


i'll leave you with a smile (and a caramel macchiato)

by HyperchaoticStarlight (MVPYurio)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: ABSOLUTELY NO SHALADIN, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - High School, Autistic Keith, Autistic Pidge, Fluff, Keith and Shiro are cousins, Multi, Slow Burn, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, ZERO (0), also no shallura because The Discourse™, and tbh also like klance is the focus here, at all, the other relationships are mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2018-10-16 00:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 44,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10560672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MVPYurio/pseuds/HyperchaoticStarlight
Summary: They're only in the coffee shop out of necessity. Lance needs money, and Keith needs a place to hang out. But, as they say, necessity is the mother of romantic tension... wait, no, that's not right....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whichlights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/gifts).



> Okay, so let's just clarify ages and things before we start...
> 
> This story opens in October, the day after Lance's 16th birthday. Lance and Keith are both sophomores in high school. Keith will turn 16 in February. Hunk is a junior, but he has a summer birthday, so he only turned 16 in July. So overall, Hunk is about 2 months older than Lance and about 7 months older than Keith. Pidge is a freshman, and we actually know her birthday—so she'll be 15 in April, making her just over a year younger than Keith, etc.
> 
> As for the grown-ups... Shiro is 25, Matt is 23ish, and Allura is 21. Scream at me if you like because of The Discourse™, but I'm going based on how I think she's coded, and, as mentioned in the tags, there's not going to be a shallura endgame. Scream into your pillow if you want.
> 
> Coran is old.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day after Lance McClain turned sixteen, he began looking for work.

The day after Lance McClain turned sixteen, he began looking for work.

To Lance, it couldn’t have come soon enough. Sure, his parents _said_ that everything was fine, that Lance didn’t need to worry about how much money they were spending on his tuition, that his mind-numbingly expensive boarding school was giving him enough financial aid and that it was worth every penny anyway, but Lance was the oldest of five, and he had a dream that he and all four of his little sisters would get to go to college, something that wouldn’t happen unless Lance took care of himself. So there he was.

Of course, his school wasn’t all that warm to the idea. Leave it to the big cheeses at Garrison Academy to be so up their own asses that they assumed every single one of their students could either pay for college out of pocket or get a free ride, to think so highly of themselves that they assumed that the _experience_ of going to their school was enough to make up for any financial difficulty, to be so self centered as to consider themselves every single student’s top priority. Lance didn’t hate his school per se, but he certainly hated the classist attitude that abounded there.

Luckily, the school couldn’t exactly stop him from working. Lance was far from the first Garrison student to come into the Student Life office to ask for a work permit—in fact, his own best friend and roommate had just done so earlier that very year.

“Dude, what’re you doing?”

Speak of the devil.

“Looking for work,” said Lance.

“Seriously?” Hunk asked incredulously. “You just turned sixteen _yesterday._ You’re looking for work already?”

“Hunk, I told you; I needed that money two years ago and I need it more now.” Lance turned away from his laptop and looked up at his friend. “Any ideas?”

Hunk grinned. “Well, you could work with me.”

 

* * *

  

“I _so_ don’t like the look of this.”

They were standing in front of Altea, a ridiculously overpriced café about a five minute walk from Garrison.

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that,” said Hunk. “It’s an awesome place, my coworkers and bosses are nice, the coffee and food is delicious—”

“—It looks like what happens when center-left white feminism has a baby with gentrification,” Lance declared.

“Funny you should say that,” said Hunk. “I can think of two people on staff who are white, and neither of them are management. The customers are mostly white, though, and okay, I guess _they_ could be called center-left white feminists. But the café itself? Not half bad.”

“How much do they pay?”

Hunk grinned. “Twelve-fifty to start.”

“Holy crow. I’m in.”

“Had a feeling that would get you to come around,” said Hunk. “Come on inside.”

“Okay, this place does look pretty cool,” Lance admitted once they were inside the café. He turned in circles, looking around at the glass walls and sleek tables. “I feel like I'm inside a spaceship.”

“I thought the same thing!” Hunk grinned. “Actually, I’m pretty sure everyone thinks that. Oh, perfect, Allura’s here.”

“Allura?”

“The owner,” Hunk explained. “Over there, behind the counter.”

“The owner works behind the counter?” Lance stared at the woman behind the counter. She had dark brown skin and a giant bun of silver dyed hair on top of her head. “That’s a thing?”

“Yeah, she does a lot… although I didn’t think she usually worked the counter on weekends. Well, anyway, you should come meet her.”

They walked up to the counter together. “Hey, Allura, what’re you doing at the counter?” Hunk asked.

Allura had been smiling, waving at Hunk as he approached, but the minute he asked her the question, her entire form deflated and the light left her bright blue eyes.

“Oh no,” Hunk sighed. “Lemme guess… another one quit? Was it Rolo? I knew we couldn’t trust him.”

“No, he’s still here… for now,” said Allura. Lance was thrown off slightly by her British accent. “No, the other one. Willow.”

Hunk blinked a few times. “Wait, seriously? I thought she was cool…”

“She quit a few hours ago,” said Allura. “Apparently, she got a job at a Starbucks and wanted to work there.”

“Why… would anyone want to work at a Starbucks… when they could work here?” Hunk asked, truly and utterly baffled. “Starbucks is total garbage, and this place is awesome. Why would she go?”

“I have no idea, but honestly it’s for the better,” said Allura. “She was really rude to some of the kids who came in here.”

“The trash takes itself out,” Lance declared quietly. Hunk laughed.

“Who’s that?” Allura asked, nodding at Lance.

“Oh! Allura, this is my best friend, Lance. He’s a sophomore and he’s looking for work and I figured there was probably a job or two going spare here.”

“Well, _now_ there is,” said Allura. “Are you another Garrison kid?”

“Yeah,” said Lance. “So I really can only work weekends…”

“That’s exactly what I need right now,” said Allura. “Have you ever worked in a café before?”

“I’ve never worked anywhere before,” said Lance. “I just turned sixteen yesterday.”

“And you’re already looking for work? Good for you,” said Allura. “Well, with that sort of an attitude, we can probably work around your lack of experience. And also, I’m desperate. How early can you start working?”

“It may take me awhile to get my work permit because Student Life is a bureaucratic nightmare,” said Lance. “But I probably can start in like a week or two?”

“That’s perfect,” said Allura. “You’re hired.”

 

* * *

 

Lance's first few days at Altea were hectic, to say the least. On day one, Hunk introduced him to the manager, Shiro, who tried to show Lance the ropes, but had a good deal of trouble doing so given that there were customers _everywhere,_ and on day two, a woman who couldn't have looked more like a soccer mom had she literally been wearing a t-shirt with an elementary school logo on it, claimed that she had seen a mouse in the bathroom, loudly enough for everyone to hear. Pandemonium ensued, multiple people threatened to call the health department, and Lance was at the counter alone. It took five whole minutes for Allura to come out from her office to see what was going on. Lance almost jumped over the counter and socked the lights out of one old man who said, rather loudly, that “well, of course there’s mice if _she’s_ the owner.” (He didn’t have to, though, as the inhabitant of the table one over, a redheaded man with a New Zealand accent, all but did it for him.) Better yet, Shiro marched over to the man when Allura wasn't looking and told him that if he didn't shut his mouth  _right that instant,_ his face would become acquainted with Shiro's hand. It was then that Lance learned that Shiro's left arm was a prosthetic, as his manager proceeded to remove it and shove it into the customer's chest with the words "I can assure you, it will hurt."

Eventually, Allura threw in the towel and refunded the entire day’s sales. Lance was horrified.

But after that, things started smoothing over, and soon Lance was having the absolute time of his life. Apparently, making coffee was his calling, because he was _damn good at it._ He began having his own regulars, people who would come in and specifically ask for him to make their drink, and the tip jar was almost always full. Better yet, Hunk was almost always on his shift, meaning that he got to spend even more time with his best friend.

“Ready for today?”

It was four in the morning on a cold Saturday, about a month after Lance had started working, and he and Hunk were about to experience their first ever opening shift. Rolo, the barista Hunk had complained about when Lance had first come to Altea, had just quit, leaving Allura no choice but to beg Hunk and Lance to take the opening shift on top of their usual one. Lance was reluctant at first, but eventually realized that the hundred and fifty dollars he would make in one day, plus tips, plus hanging out with Hunk, beat doing homework.

“Let’s do this.”

Allura was already there when they arrived. Her hair was down, which was rather odd—it was almost always in its massive bun. Lance hadn’t realized exactly how long her hair was until he saw it all down.

“Thanks for being willing to come in so early,” she said. “I’m sorry about all of this.”

“It’s not your fault,” said Hunk. “It’s stupid _Rolo’s_ fault. I knew we couldn’t trust him.”

“True… I really am so sorry for doubting you, Hunk,” said Allura.

Hunk shrugged. “Eh, it’s fine. I’ve always wanted to see what an opening shift was like, anyway.”

Lance looked over at his friend. “Dude, your list of things you’ve always wanted to do is _weird._ ”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith was _not_ having a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so if you were paying Close Attention, you may have noticed that the first chapter changed a few times. Turns out that I have zero (0) idea how time works, and so everything needed to be scooted back for things to fit together the way I wanted them to. So, let's do some more clarification:
> 
> Lance's birthday (in this fic) is October 5th, meaning **the story opens on October 6th**. Chapter 1 ends "about a month after" Lance starts working at Altea, meaning that **Chapter 1 ends in early November**.
> 
> Chapter 2 is (spoiler alert) a continuation of the end of Chapter 1, so **we are still in early November.**
> 
> On with the story, and sorry for all of the time changes!

_Several hours later…_

Keith was _not_ having a good morning.

He had just woken up to see an email from the head of the Garrison maintenance department, explaining that there was a gas leak in the library and that nobody could go in until the problem was fixed—which could take as long as until the middle of the week.

And that meant no access to the old study room.

The Garrison library was quite literally that—a full sized library building. Over the summer, the library had been renovated, and four huge study rooms were placed up on the first floor. However, Keith didn't like these new study rooms. The lights were way too bright and too blue in there, and he didn't like the chairs and he didn't like the floor and he didn't like the way it sounded when he dropped a pen on the desk. The old study room in the basement, with its soft yellowish light and its carpeted floor and its old wooden table and old chairs, was so very much nicer, and better yet, the closet where the wifi router lived was on the other side of the hall. Keith had used that room all the time last year as a freshman, and he was glad when he learned that it was still available for use… technically. There wasn't a rule against the use of the old room, but using it when one of the new rooms was available was discouraged. Still, there wasn't a rule, and Keith was pretty friendly with the librarian, so there wasn't much of a problem. And besides, nobody else was using it.

That is, except for Pidge Holt.

Keith had discovered Pidge in the study room on the third day of school. At first, he had been annoyed to see her there—that was _his_ room, and couldn't she use one of the new rooms?—but then she told him why she wasn't upstairs.

“I don't like it up there,” she had explained, looking almost at Keith but not quite. “The lights are bright and a weird color and the tables make weird sounds when you drop stuff on them and the chairs are… they're just bad. The chairs are bad in there. It's nicer in here.”

Keith had wanted to argue, but he couldn't. Not when this tiny freshman with round glasses and hair that fluffed out around her head like a lion’s mane was complaining about the new rooms for the same reasons he hated them.

“Well… d’you mind sharing?”

Pidge shook her head, and so their friendship began. They spent almost all of their common free time in the old study room together, discussing conspiracy theories and cryptids—Keith was _certain_ that there was some unknown monster lurking on Garrison campus, and Pidge couldn't help but agree, not to mention the _clear_ signs that the science building was haunted. Occasionally, they would go out onto campus and try to investigate their hypotheses.

But now, they had another big project: Rover, a prototype app that, when finalized, could be a game-changer for disabled Garrisonians. It had the capacity to scan any text and instantly convert it into a file which could then be visually altered in a number of ways, from changing the colors, to zooming in and out, to changing the font and font size, and could also then read the contents of that file back. Rover also worked in reverse, providing captions in real time during class, could translate both text and speech into seven languages and counting, and Pidge was even working on a way to use Rover as a way to assist with nonverbal communication, and also to assist with navigation around the Garrison campus. Keith would say that really, this was Pidge’s project, that he was just lending a hand, but Pidge would say that without Keith’s extensive knowledge of the Garrison campus and what kinds of accommodations the school lacked—and what school rules would get in the way—that Rover couldn’t be possible.

They had planned on going to the study room again today to continue working. Pidge was deep in the stages of rubber duck programming, and Keith was working both on the comprehensive campus map and the letter they were going to send to the school administration to ask that Rover be installed on every school iPad, that those iPads be made available to disabled students so that they could use Rover, and for the campus map to be uploaded to the school server, so that Rover could access the map on each iPad and help with navigation.

But apparently, that wasn’t going to happen today, because of a gas leak.

Keith was pulled from his disgruntled thoughts by the buzzing of his phone.

> **Pidge: Didja hear? There was a gas leak in the library.**
> 
> **Me: I’ve been ranting about it in my head for the past five minutes**
> 
> **Pidge: Haha. I just really hope they don’t go looking through the old study room. I accidentally left the iPad we borrowed to test Rover in there, and I really don’t want the school to know that we jailbroke school property…**
> 
> **Me: Oh crap… yeah let’s hope that doesn’t happen**
> 
> **Pidge: I also left my rubber ducks.**
> 
> **Me: Now THAT’s a tragedy :O**
> 
> **Pidge: Well, we can still hang out today, yeah?**
> 
> **Me: Yeah, but where?**
> 
> **Me: I’d rather not hang out on campus. The only places where people won’t bug us, are places where the wifi is awful**
> 
> **Pidge: We could go to a Starbucks… usually there’s wifi there.**
> 
> **Me: Starbucks is garbage are you kidding me?**
> 
> **Me: I would literally rather eat my own shit than go to a Starbucks**
> 
> **Pidge: Well then.**

Keith sighed and flopped back onto his bed. Where the hell could they go?

And then it hit him.

> **Me: Well, there’s another place we could go**
> 
> **Pidge: Ooooh, where?**
> 
> **Me: My older cousin is the manager at another coffeeshop. About five minutes from campus**
> 
> **Me: It’s ridiculously expensive, but there’s wifi, and if my cousin is on shift maybe I can get us a discount**
> 
> **Pidge: Sounds good. Meet me by our tree.**
> 
> **Me: Will do**

Half an hour later, they were standing in front of the door to Altea.

“This place looks completely ridiculous,” Pidge deadpanned. “Your cousin seriously works here?”

“I know, I know,” said Keith. “But yeah, he does, and he loves it. Come on, let’s just try it, yeah?”

They walked inside, and Pidge’s eyes instantly went wide as she turned around and around. “Whoa… it’s like a spaceship,” she whispered.

“Everyone thinks that,” said Keith. “Okay, let’s find a table.”

There weren’t many open seats, but they managed to find a table in the corner where they could sit side by side and share Keith’s laptop. (Pidge would have brought hers, but it was currently updating its software and couldn’t be unplugged under _any_ circumstances.)

“Okay,” Pidge said after they had finished watching the most recent episode of _Last Week Tonight with John Oliver._ “I’m hungry and thirsty; are you gonna try and get us that discount or not?”

Keith laughed. “Alright, alright. But I’m not sure if Shiro is even here today.”

“Wait, hang on… did you say Shiro?” Pidge blinked a few times. “I mean, there are probably a lot of Shiros out there, but there’s definitely one who I’m pretty sure is secretly dating my brother.”

“Yeah, no, that would be my cousin,” said Keith. “That’s why I kept looking at you funny the first few days that we knew each other. You looked really familiar, and that’s when I remembered that you looked just like the guy who Shiro always has as his phone background. They’re totally together, by the way.” He grinned at Pidge, ruffled her hair quickly (much to her chagrin), and walked up to the counter.

He wasn’t really sure who to expect at the counter. Shiro had mentioned that the attrition rate at Altea was absolutely pathetic these days.

However, he definitely _wasn’t_ expecting to see _literally the cutest guy he had ever seen in his life, ever._

He had brown skin two or three shades darker than Keith’s, and brown hair that fluffed around his head a little bit—not nearly as much as Pidge’s, but a little bit—with one little tuft on the back that literally looked like a bird in flight, and very dark blue eyes. And… _wait, I was supposed to be doing something… what did I come up here to do?_

Lance was very, very confused. Sure, Altea customers were weird, but a teenager with a mullet staring at him for no reason and not ordering anything? That was new.

“Ummmm.... can I help you?” Lance asked.

Mullet blinked a few times. “Oh… yeah. Right. Um, is Shiro here?”

This was getting weirder by the minute. “Um, yeah, why?”

“Oh... he's my cousin,” said Mullet. “I just wanted to say hi…”

“You just want a discount, don’t you.”

“... maybe…”

Lance sighed. “I’m not supposed to give out discounts, but honestly, I feel you. This place really is pricey. You're really Shiro's cousin?” Mullet nodded. “Alright then. If I lose my job for giving an unauthorized discount to some kid with a mullet, I'll kick your ass.”

"Hey, Hunk's shift just ended so I'm taking his spot. How are things out—hey, Keith, what are you doing here?"

Lance whirled around to see that Shiro was behind him. “Oh, hey Shiro. Yeah, this dude with a mullet came up here wanting to see you.”

“Lance, meet my cousin, Keith,” said Shiro. “He goes to Garrison as well; I think you might be in the same grade. But anyway, how are you, dude?”

Shiro and Keith began talking, and Lance wasn’t exactly amused by that fact. A line had started to form, and he really just wanted to make Keith’s drink and move things along.

"Lance, tell me this kid wasn't trying to wrangle a discount out of you," said Shiro, raising an eyebrow at his cousin.

Keith and Lance stare at each other. "Ummm..."

"Hang on. Hold the phone." Shiro stared over at the table where Keith's unmistakeable giant red backpack was sitting on a chair. "Keith, who's that sitting at your table?"

Keith smirked. "That would be Ms. Katie Holt, although she usually goes by Pidge, and if I’m not mistaken, you’re rather close with her older brother.” Shiro’s gulp was both audible and visible. “So… how about that discount?”

“Yeah, fine,” said Shiro, blushing. “What do you want?”

“About time,” Lance muttered.

“Um… I’ll take a small caramel macchiato, and then a small hot chocolate for Pidge and a slice of that awesome chocolate cake Allura makes,” said Keith.

Without thinking about it, Lance gave Keith the finger guns. “You got it.”

“Keith, dude, you came on the right day,” said Shiro as he began punching in Keith’s order. “Lance is our best barista by far.”

Keith didn’t say anything. He was too busy staring at said barista as he began making the drinks.

Realizing what his cousin was doing, Shiro smirked at Keith and began signing. _{Oh, so now look who has a crush?}_

Keith narrowed his eyebrows and signed back. _[Fuck off.]_

“Alright, alright, your total is $12.80,” said Shiro.

“Damn,” said Keith, quickly doing the math in his head. “You really did give me a discount.”

“You’re welcome,” said Shiro.

“Alright, one hot chocolate, one caramel macchiato, and one piece of chocolate cake for Mullet,” Lance shouted from the pickup line.

Shiro snorted. “Go get your stuff, _Mullet_.”

“I hate you.”

At long last, things were back to normal. The line was moving quickly, and Lance no longer felt the eyes of the devil incarnate—that is, angry white women—staring into his soul.

“You realize I can see everything on security cameras, right?”

Lance turned around a bit. “Oh… hi, Allura.”

“I saw what you just did there,” said Allura, glaring at Shiro. “I know you’re pathetic, but giving a twenty percent discount to his _sister?_ I expected more from you.”

“Yeah, and you held up the line for a solid ten minutes,” Lance added. “And you didn’t even talk to her or anything.”

Allura turned on her newest employee. “Don’t think you’re getting off scot-free either, Lance. You were about to give him a discount too.”

“He’s Shiro’s cousin!” Lance protested.

“You’re staring at him,” said Allura, grinning mischievously.

Lance blushed. “I… I’m gonna go um… take the dirty plates off of the tray…”

“What, the one right next to his table?” Allura asked. Lance glared at her before walking out.

As he approached the tray where customers had, as usual, stacked their dirty plates in an unforgivably messy fashion, Keith stood up and waved at him.

“Hey—Lance, right?” he asked as he approached.

“Yeah,” said Lance. _Hold it together. Ignore the fact that he’s cute. Actually, no, he’s not cute. He can’t be. He has a mullet._

“You don’t happen to give refills, do you? Because that was sort of the best coffee I’ve ever had in my life and I could drink about ten of them.”

Lance laughed. “Yeah, if you get one of our rewards cards and get to… I think it might be Silver Level but don’t quote me on that.”

“A rewards card?” Keith asked. He looked up at Lance with curiosity—and with very soft, shiny eyes that _no, he has a mullet, you don’t think he’s cute._

“Yeah, you can earn points for buying things and get rewards and free drinks, and there are different levels, and—wait, Shiro didn’t tell you any of this?” Keith shook his head. “That’s an outrage,” Lance declared as he began re-stacking the cups and plates so they could be transported more easily. “What kind of person doesn’t tell their own cousin about ways to get amazing deals on the best coffee around?”

He finished restacking the plates, turned to bring them back into the kitchen… and then bumped right into Keith, causing the tray to drop and for plates and cups to fall _everywhere._

“Oh, quiznak,” Lance muttered. He bent down to start picking them up. “Oh—hey, you don’t have to help me—”

“Nah, I shouldn’t have been standing right behind you,” said Keith, carefully putting a bit of broken plate into one of the unharmed mugs. “What’s a quiznak?”

“Allura is super strict about employees swearing. Apparently someone swore in front of some customer’s kid and the customer got really mad, something like that. But then—okay, see that guy with the red hair over at the table by the bathroom?”

Keith looked over his shoulder. “Yeah.”

“Okay, so that guy is Coran. He’s been coming here since we opened; he’s here like all the time. Hunk—that’s my best friend; he’s not here now but he got me this job—calls him the mayor of Altea. I promise that this is important to the story; I’ll get to it in a second. Official Altean Legend has it that one time we had some ridiculous customer who came in and asked for like some drink that wasn’t on the menu and got mad when we didn’t have it, and he was so loud that everyone in the entire café just stopped talking and stared and listened, and so then he storms out, and everything is still quiet, and then Coran—told you he was important to the story—just deadpans _‘What the quiznak was that about?’_ And everyone just started laughing, and then they went back to their things, but then it just sort of stuck, and so now all the employees here use it as just like, a replacement swear. Dude, you seriously don’t have to help me,” he said as Keith went to grab a few napkins.

“The faster you get this cleaned up, the faster I can get my rewards card,” Keith explained. “I want those free refills.”

“You could just… go up to the counter, and get one from Shiro,” Lance pointed out.

“But then I don’t get to hear about Official Altean Legends,” said Keith.

“That’s… basically it; I’m sure Shiro knows way more of them than I do… and didn’t you basically just like, ditch your friend?”

“Eh, Pidge is fine,” said Keith. “She’s probably—hang on a sec.” Keith pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Oh, quiznak. She got into my computer.”

“How do you know?” Lance asked. _Did he just say quiznak?_

“Because she just texted me from it,” said Keith.

> **Me: I wonder how long it’ll take me to find something embarrassing on your laptop…**
> 
> **Me: You may want to come stop me soon.**

“Alright, I have to go before a fourteen year old spills my dark secrets,” said Keith. “I’ll come back and get my rewards card, okay?”

Lance grinned. “If you don’t get it later today, I’m here starting at eleven tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there,” Keith promised.

He went back to his table. Lance went back to his work.

They stared at each other the entire time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As promised, Keith was there the next day...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for taking so long to update this, y'all! I've been trying to stay two chapters ahead of myself and chapter 5 had a lot to pack in there. But here's chapter 3!

****As promised, Keith was there the next day to get his rewards card, and another caramel macchiato. Pidge was with him again, this time coming up to the counter with Keith to get something besides a hot chocolate (“you're not my _mother,_ Keith; I can have coffee if I want”) before dragging him back to their table “to work on Rover,” whatever that meant. They stayed there for a few hours, during which Lance was too busy to try and interact with them, or even stare at Keith’s totally not cute mullet.

But when Lance came back from his lunch break at around two, Keith was at the counter again.

“Hey,” said Lance. “More coffee?”

“Please,” said Keith. “I was hoping you’d come back. No offense to your coworkers or anything, but I really wanted you to make my drink.”

“None taken,” said Hunk, turning away from the counter he’d been cleaning. “Everyone knows that Lance is the best barista here.”

Lance felt a hand clap his back, and then heard Shiro from behind him saying “He was a good find.”

“Thanks, boss,” said Lance, turning and giving Shiro a smile. “I was just about to make your cousin another drink.”

“Looks like you've got yourself a regular,” said Shiro. “Well done. I've been trying to make a regular out of Keith since he started at Garrison, but no dice.”

“I came here a few times,” said Keith, “but the coffee wasn't as good and it costs a fortune. But I'm willing to pay for coffee when it's as good as Lance’s.”

“Well, if that's the case, it looks like I'd better make that drink,” said Lance. “Seeya at the pickup line!”

Shiro was right—Lance had successfully made Keith and Pidge into regulars. They were there the following Saturday and Sunday, and the Saturday and Sunday after that, despite the fact that the Garrison library had reopened only two days after their first visit.

Meanwhile, Lance was learning more and more about the duo and their interest in cryptids and conspiracy theories. He wasn't necessarily a believer in much of the supernatural himself, but when the café was quiet and he had nothing to do, he was more than happy to hear Keith and Pidge’s ideas—and, in return, supply them with the legends from his childhood. Occasionally Coran would join in, moving from his little table over to Keith and Pidge. Apparently, there were some Official Altean Legends that Lance didn't know, and Coran was more than happy to fill the gaps, having been a customer since the place opened.

One day, when the café was really quiet, Lance learned about Rover. Pidge had sworn him to secrecy multiple times before giving the slightest hint as to what Rover was, but when Lance found out, he was floored.

“You're a freshman, and you're coding an app like that?” he asked. “Quiznak, that's impressive.”

“I mean, yeah, but there's so much I couldn't have done without Keith,” said Pidge. “He may not be a computer programmer, but he knows a ton about the school that I don't. And he's also just really great moral support, to be honest. Like, sometimes I'm about to scream because something isn't working and he's always there to give me a hug. And then when we’re not working on Rover, he's also just my best friend and super nice and accepting and… yeah. I'd be lost without him.”

Keith grinned and ruffled her hair. “Oh yeah! I just remembered that I have a present for you.”

“Wait, what? Why do you have a present for me? Christmas isn't for a month, and my birthday isn't until April.”

“It's a ‘congratulations on a successful first quarter at Garrison’ present,” said Keith. “You told me about your grades this quarter, remember? Almost straight A’s, if I recall correctly. Now close your eyes and open your hands; I didn't wrap it.”

“I _told_ you he's the best friend ever,” Pidge said as she closed her eyes.

Lance grinned, remembering how Hunk had taken him under his wing last year. Being a freshman with an older friend was really great.

“Okay, open your eyes,” said Keith.

Pidge opened her eyes and had to keep herself from squealing. “You got me the necklace I wanted!” she exclaimed. She turned to Lance. “I've wanted a chewy necklace for ages and ages and I saw this one like two weeks ago? And I really wanted it, but it was expensive and I figured I could just wait and maybe Mom and Dad would get me one for Christmas—Keith, thank you!” She flung her arms around Keith’s neck and hugged him tightly.

“After my first quarter at Garrison, Shiro gave me my first chew necklace,” said Keith, hugging Pidge back. “I figured I would pay it forward.”

“I love it,” said Pidge, pulling away and putting the necklace around her neck. Lance finally managed to get a glimpse of the pendant. It was green, slightly shimmery, and shaped like a bird.

“It's pretty,” said Lance. Pidge didn't respond, as she was already chewing on it.

“We’re both autistic,” Keith explained quietly. “A lot of what drove us to come up with Rover has to do with some of the things that make school difficult—not necessarily for us, although Pidge is dyslexic so some of Rover’s functions are helpful for her, and once we have Rover doing more with nonverbal communication, that'll be helpful for both of us—but just, in general, that's why we care so much. School is just so inaccessible to so many people and we wanted that to change.”

“I think that's great,” said Lance. “I don't know if this is like, the wrong thing to say or whatever, like I don't want to be That Person, but my youngest sister is autistic. She's only five and honestly her school is just such garbage to her. They keep saying that she needs to go to a special school to learn social skills or else she’ll get bullied.”

Pidge’s eyes darkened and she hissed around her necklace. Keith wrapped an arm around her.

“She’s not going,” said Lance. “My parents did their research and found all these horror stories and so they were all like, over our dead bodies, but now she's getting picked on and the school refuses to help.”

“That's awful,” said Keith, hugging Pidge a little closer and rubbing her arm, quite possibly to keep her from spontaneously combusting in anger. “But good on your family for being vigilant.”

“Yeah. Point is, I can't say I know what it feels like to be in that situation, but I have seen the way my little sister has been treated and… I guess if there's any way I can help with Rover or with getting schools to stop sucking or if there's anything I can try to get Allura to do here or… just, if there's ever anything that I can do to like, be an ally or show solidarity or amplify or just. I want to be helpful if I can be… and now I'm rambling.”

Keith laughed. “And here I thought you were some master of eloquence. Listen, the fact that you care and you want us take the lead and not talk over us—at least, that sounds like what you're saying—” (Lance nodded) “—yeah, I mean like, that's a step. And definitely, if anything happens to cross my mind that you can help with, I'll let you know.”

“Me too,” said Pidge, taking her necklace out for just long enough to speak and then putting it back in.

Lance nodded. “Well, anyway, what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving?”

“We’re spending it together, actually,” said Keith.

Pidge took her necklace out of her mouth again. “We finally got Shiro and my brother to admit that they're dating—”

“About time,” said Lance.

“I know, right? Well yeah, we got them to fess up, and so now the four of us are doing Thanksgiving together—”

“Five, actually,” said Keith. “Allura’s coming too.”

“That's awesome!” said Lance. “No wonder Allura said that she could use extra hands Thanksgiving weekend. I'm one of them, by the way. I'll be here basically all weekend.”

“You're not going to see your family?” Keith asked.

“My family is pretty far away,” said Lance. “I tried going back home for Thanksgiving last year, but it was just a huge hassle. Garrison lets people stay on campus for the weekend, and I like working here, and I may as well get some extra money. Working on Black Friday—it's gonna suck, but I could make some good tips, yeah?”

“Well, we'll definitely stop by,” Keith declared. “No way you're gonna be stuck here all weekend with rabid customers, without us coming to see you.” Pidge nodded in agreement.

“You guys are great,” said Lance. “I’m glad y'all are regulars.”

“We’re not just regulars,” said Keith. He grabbed his near-empty caramel macchiato and raised it slightly. “We’re _your_ regulars.”

Keith smiled, and for a fleeting moment Lance thought he was looking at the personification of a star, a shining entity of light wrapped up in a red and yellow jacket and a stupid haircut.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The café was all but empty, which was weird for a Saturday afternoon in early December, but hey, it meant that Lance and Keith could talk...

“Where’s Pidge today?” Lance asked as Keith walked up to the counter alone. The café was all but empty, which was weird for a Saturday afternoon in early December, but hey, it meant that Lance and Keith could talk.

“Ditched me,” said Keith, leaning both hands on the counter. “Apparently a _pretty girl_ in her science class asked her to help with her homework.”

“Ah,” said Lance. “And you don't have any other friends to hang out with?”

“Not really. Well, you, but it’s not like I see you outside of the café…”

Keith trailed off, and Lance thought he knew what words were left hanging in the air, but he couldn’t be sure. Now he had a choice: take a gamble, or let it lie.

_What the quiznak._

“That could change,” he said tentatively. “You go to Garrison, right?”

“Yeah…?”

“Let’s hang out sometime,” Lance said. “Garrison’s tiny; I’m sure we’re in the same class and we just never noticed each other. We might even be in the same dorm building. We’re in close quarters and we know each other now. Why not?”

Keith grinned. “If Pidge can hang out with a pretty girl, then by quiznak I can hang out with you. Let's do it.”

“I've never heard ‘quiznak’ used in that way,” Lance mused. “But hey, it's cool that you say it.”

“Yeah, I do,” said Keith. “Pidge teases it me for it. Says that… well, anyway…”

“The usual?” Lance prompted.

“That’d be great,” said Keith. “A large, please.”

Lance laughed. “You got it. That’ll be $6.87—hang on. Hunk, can you come ring Keith up while I make his drink?”

“I’m on it,” said Hunk. “Alright, you know the drill by now. Swipe your rewards card first, yada yada yada.”

Keith swiped his rewards card and then his debit card, but he wasn't really paying attention. Watching Lance bustle around and make drinks was far more interesting…

“Cute, isn’t he?”

Keith blinked and turned back towards Hunk. “What?”

“Here’s your receipt,” said Hunk.

“Caramel macchiato for Mullet!”

“Thanks,” said Keith. “Looks like my drink is ready.”

“Have a good day,” said Hunk.

Keith walked over to the pickup line. Lance was grinning at him.

“I thought you had stopped calling me that,” said Keith.

“Yes, and then I started again,” said Lance. “What are you gonna do about it, ask to speak to the manager?”

“I just might,” said Keith. “Oh, who am I kidding; he probably thinks it’s hilarious.”

“I’m sure he does,” said Lance. “Listen, I have to go, but I get off of my shift at four and then I’m not really doing much of anything. And Hunk is stuck here until we close. If Pidge is still with her pretty girl…”

“She will be,” said Keith.

“Just email me, yeah? It’s in the school directory. Lance McClain.” Lance gave him the finger guns. “Alright, I really have to go. Talk to you later!”

With that, he was gone again, leaving Keith with a smile and a caramel macchiato.

 

* * *

 

The minute Lance’s shift was over, he clocked out, changed back into his regular clothes, and checked his phone. 

> **Gmail (37m ago)**
> 
> **Keith Kogane**
> 
> **(no subject)**

Trying as hard as he could not to punch the air—Shiro was only a few feet away and Lance had a feeling he knew exactly what was up—Lance opened the email.

> **Hi Lance,**
> 
> **Pidge is still with Pretty Girl (at least, if the fact that her last text to me was “I’m busy” three hours ago is anything to go by). I have a feeling that she’s out of commission for the rest of the day…**

Lance grabbed his backpack and headed for the door, waving goodbye to Shiro and Hunk as he left. Once he was safely out the door, he continued reading.

> **… Anyway, I’m back at Garrison now and have nothing to do, so if you wanted to try and hang out, we can do that. You said that you had nothing to do either, right?**
> 
> **–Keith**

The response seemed to fly out of Lance’s fingers without his realizing it. 

> **Lance McClain**
> 
> **Re: (no subject)**
> 
> **Hey Mullet, just got off my shift. I’ll be back at Garrison in about five minutes, and then I’m going to drop my stuff off in my dorm. Just wondering, what dorm are you in?**
> 
> **Oh, and also, do we know Pretty Girl’s name?**
> 
> **Lance**
> 
> **P.S. yes, I’m still calling you Mullet. Fight me.**

Lance put his phone into his pocket, only for it to buzz again.

> **Gmail (now)**
> 
> **Keith Kogane**
> 
> **Re: (no subject)**
> 
> **I’m in Carter, room 311. Meet me behind the building and I will ABSOLUTELY fight you. And Pidge hasn’t told me her name (yet).**
> 
> **–Keith**
> 
> **P.S. Wanna just text? 518-555-0148**

_He gave me his number he gave me his number he gave me his number he—HE HAS A MULLET. Calm down!_

Lance added the number to his phone (as Mullet, of course) and texted Keith. 

> **Me: Hey it’s Lance**
> 
> **Mullet: Hey :D**
> 
> **Mullet: Wait I shouldn’t be saying :D we’re about to fight behind Carter**
> 
> **Me: Yes we are. Also btw our rooms are next door, Hunk and I are in Carter 313**
> 
> **Mullet: No way! And Pidge is in 328! Not sure about Pretty Girl**
> 
> **Mullet: Anyway, are we going to fight behind Carter or not?**
> 
> **Me: You tell me, Mullet ;)**
> 
> **Mullet: Oh, it’s on**

Lance had never dropped things in his room faster.

Five minutes later, he was standing by the back entrance to Carter, the one that had an ALARM WILL SOUND sign but no alarm. Keith was already there, leaning against a tree.

“Hey, Mullet,” said Lance. Keith rolled his eyes. “What? Why don’t you like it, anyway? Unless…” Lance grinned as Keith bit his lip. “You do like it, don’t you? Awwww, you shoulda just said so!”

“Stop it,” Keith whined, almost pathetically. “I could beat you up, y’know.”

“Doubtful,” said Lance. “I’d like to see you tr—!!!” Lance cried out as Keith shoved him against the side of the building. “Holy quiznak, okay, I’m sorry, I promise not to call you Mullet again—”

“Shit, did I actually hurt you?” Keith asked. He offered a hand to help Lance up.

“Eh, I’m fine,” Lance shrugged, but he accepted Keith’s hand.

The hand was very warm, and Lance didn’t want to let go of it. He stood up, and without even realizing it, he lingered for one, two, three seconds before opening his hand and allowing it to fall again at his side.

“Y’know,” he said, “I never said that your mullet was a bad thing.”

_Yes I have. And it is. It has to be. It’s the reason that he can’t possibly ever be cute. Why did I even say that? Of course it’s bad. Mullets aren’t cute. They’re just not. That’s an objective fact._

_Isn’t it?_

“And it’s not like you can talk, anyway,” said Keith. “You and the little bird coming off the back of your head.”

“Little bird?”

Keith pointed. “That little bit in the back. It looks like a bird in flight.”

Lance reached back and touched it. “That’s sorta always been there,” said Lance. “I never thought of it like a bird, but when you put it that way, it doesn’t sound so ridiculous either.”

“A bird on your head is pretty ridiculous if you ask me,” said Keith.

Lance shook his head. “But you said a bird in _flight._ That’s not ridiculous… that’s _poetry._ Are you secretly a poet, Keith? Charming the ladies with your silver tongue or something?”

“Charming the ladies is Pidge’s thing,” said Keith. “And I’m definitely not a poet. Just very gay.”

Lance blinked a few times. Did Keith just… _no, he must've not meant it that way. He can’t have._

Keith ran a hand through his _stupid, stupid_ mullet. “Well, anyway, I think the dining hall is going to open up soon. Wanna grab food?”

“Yeah,” said Lance. “Let’s grab food."

“Okay, so I don’t like the dining hall all that much,” Keith said as they entered. “It’s really loud. So I’m probably just gonna eat really fast and then run off…”

“I have a better idea,” said Lance. “Get your food, and then follow me.”

They went through the line to get food, out into the main room, and then Lance strode out the door to the outdoor patio.

“Eat at the outside tables? Surprised I never thought of that,” said Keith.

“We’re still walking,” said Lance.

And indeed they were. They walked off of the patio and down onto one of the roads that twisted around the campus, and then…

“Wait, where are we going?” Keith asked.

Lance turned towards Keith and grinned. “Somewhere really, _really_ quiet.”

They kept walking, across one of the fields and down to—

“—The river,” Keith realized. “You wanna eat on the docks.”

Lance smirked. “Who the quiznak said anything about docks?”

 

* * *

 

“This is definitely against school rules,” said Keith.

Somehow, Lance had a key to the boat shed, from which life jackets were procured, and now they were floating in a canoe on the river.

“I've done this a thousand times,” said Lance. “I have my lifeguard certification and my dad sails and taught me how and a bunch of other stuff, so it didn't take too much wheedling to get the key. A lot of wheedling, but not too much wheedling.”

“So you were given the key? You didn't steal it?”

“No, no, it's mine,” said Lance. “I probably shouldn't be out after dark… or in the middle of winter… and I'm not technically sure if I'm allowed to bring others with me… although I've brought Hunk before… but honestly nobody comes looking for anyone out here. As long as we’re back before the kitchen closes so we can buss our plates and I lock up the shed and all that, we’re fine. And in the meantime…” Lance put his plate down in front of him and paddled the canoe away from the trees. “Look up.”

Keith did, and his eyes widened. “You can see so many stars,” he almost whispered.

“I’m not saying this is the only place to see stars on campus,” said Lance, “but I’m pretty sure this is the best place.”

“It’s amazing,” said Keith. “Thanks for bringing me out here.”

“Just wait until spring,” said Lance. “The river flows directly east and west and there isn’t much in either direction, so you can actually see the sunrise and the sunset out here. The sunrise isn’t that special, but the sunset… that’s really something. I’ll bring you out here in the spring when it’s warm and the sun sets at a reasonable hour, and you can see it on the river. And then after the sun sets you can see the stars.”

“That sounds amazing,” Keith said quietly.

Lance checked his watch. “We have a little more time before we have to go back in. In the meantime… what’s your favorite color?”

“Red,” said Keith. “Yours?”

“Whatever color the ocean is,” said Lance. “When I’m staring at the ocean and it looks blue, that’s my favorite color, and when I’m staring at it and it’s green, that’s my favorite. I just love the ocean… that’s weird, isn’t it?”

“No, not weird. But speaking of…” Keith bit his lip, and then asked the question that he’d been turning over for a few days now. “Is it weird or creepy or whatever that Pidge and I keep coming in? Because someone pointed out once that like… and there was the whole thing where I said I was your regular before Thanksgiving… anyway, does it creep you out?”

Lance shook his head. “I didn’t think it was creepy when you first started coming in, so I started talking with you and Pidge, and now we’re all friends, so no. Thanks for asking, though.”

There was silence for another few moments, and then Lance spoke again. “Hey, look up—you can see the moon.”

Keith looked up, and indeed, there it was, a few nights away from full and covered slightly by clouds.

Without thinking, he began reciting, _“We saw the last embers of daylight die, / And, in the trembling blue green of the sky, / A moon, worn as if it had been a shell / Washed by time’s waters as they rose and fell / About the stars and broke in days and years.”_

“What’s that from?” Lance asked. “It’s beautiful.”

“Oh… just a poem,” said Keith.

“What’s it called? And how does the rest of it go?”

Keith couldn’t be more grateful that the darkness hid his blush. “Um… I don’t remember,” he lied.

“If you ever do, will you tell me the rest?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, sure,” said Keith, but already he was praying to any higher powers there might or might not be that Lance wouldn’t remember...

 _I had a thought for no one’s but your ears:_  
_That you were beautiful, and that I strove_  
_To love you in the old high way of love;_  
_That it had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown_ _  
As weary-hearted as that hollow moon._

_– W.B. Yeats, “Adam’s Curse”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun announcement: I'm running a Voltron blog with two of my pals! Come follow us at [everything-quiznaks-so-much](https://everything-quiznaks-so-much.tumblr.com)!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas was always Lance's favorite time of year...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gonna warn y'all, this one is long as hell, but hopefully y'all will like it!

_Three days later…_

Christmas was always Lance’s favorite time of year. Sure, the blatant consumerism was irritating, but the rest of it, he loved—the lights going up everywhere, the Christmas carols on the radio, the entire atmosphere of the holidays—and being with his family. And thanks to Garrison’s two week vacation, he would get to spend a lot of time doing that.

All he had to do was survive finals…

Luckily, he had a secret weapon. As it turned out, Keith was damn good at some of Lance’s worst subjects, and vice versa, and so they began studying together and helping each other. The old study room was back in business, and now Keith and Lance used it on a regular basis.

And even when they weren't studying, they began hanging out more on campus. After their first excursion to the river, they began eating dinner together almost every night, finding new quiet places to hang out and eat. Occasionally Pidge and Hunk would join them, although Pidge was now spending more and more time with Rose, the pretty girl in her science class.

(It would seem that Rover would be on a temporary hiatus.)

“Alright, let’s stop for now,” said Lance. He had just finished helping Keith with a particularly difficult balancing-chemical-equations problem, two hours into a study session. “It’s getting late, and we deserve a break.”

“Agreed,” said Keith.

“Hey, wanna watch a movie in my room?” Lance asked. “Hunk is stuck at Altea again and I have nothing to do.”

“Yeah, sure,” said Keith. “But it has to be a cheesy Christmas movie.”

“Sounds good,” said Lance. “Let’s go.”

“You’ve never been in my room before, have you?” Lance asked as they entered Carter. Keith shook his head. “Well, it isn’t much, but it’s home…”

He opened the door, and Keith walked inside. “Hey, it’s nice in here,” he said. “Which bed is yours?”

“This one,” said Lance, pointing to the one on the right.

Keith wandered over and looked around Lance’s half of the room. “Hey, what’s this?” He pointed at a picture frame hanging on the wall behind Lance’s bed.

“That’s my family,” said Lance. “Here, come look.”

They knelt on the bed side by side. “Oh, hey, there you are,” said Keith, pointing to Lance. “Who’s everyone else? And where was this taken?”

“That’s at home,” said Lance. “Every summer, on my parents’ anniversary, we take a photo of the whole family. This is the most recent photo.”

“So those are your parents in the middle?” Keith asked.

“Yep,” said Lance. “And that’s Luciana in my mom’s lap. We usually call her Luci. She’s five; she’s the baby of the family.”

“She’s autistic, right?” Keith asked.

“Yeah,” said Lance. “Okay, and so the two on my dad’s right are the twins, Elena and Selina. They’re eight. And then on my mom’s right are me—obviously—and Alicia, who’s twelve.”

Keith stared at the family for a few long minutes. “They don’t look anything like you,” he said. “Sorry, was that a bad thing to say?”

“No, it’s fine,” said Lance. “The reason they don’t isn’t a secret or anything. When I say ‘my dad,’ I technically mean my stepdad. Basically, my mom left my biological father when I was like four or five because he was an asshole, and then married my dad. And he already had Alicia—so technically, Alicia is my stepsister—and then they had the rest of the girls together. So the twins and Luci are my half sisters.”

“Oh,” said Keith. “Okay, that makes sense.”

“Yeah,” said Lance. “But my dad is my dad and my sisters are my sisters. End of story.”

“Of course,” said Keith.

Lance reached out and touched the corner of the picture frame. “My family is everything to me,” he said. “I’d die or kill for every single person in that photo.”

“Well, let’s hope you don’t ever have to do either,” said Keith.

“And what about you?” Lance asked. “Anything or anyone you’d put yourself on the line for?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah… Pidge, Shiro…” _You,_ he thought, but he didn’t say so. “Oh, and I suppose if someone tried to take my art supplies I’d put up one hell of a fight.”

“Art supplies?” Lance asked. “What kind of art?”

“Just drawing,” said Keith. “Sometimes I paint when I feel like it. Hang on.”

He reached into his backpack and pulled out a red sketchbook. “Here, you can look in here if you want.”

Lance took the sketchbook from Keith and opened it up, slowly flipping through the pages. “Holy crow,” he said. “Dude, these are amazing! You should like, sell your art or something.”

“Actually, I take commissions,” said Keith. “I have like, an online thing where people can pay me to draw… anything, really. I’ve designed people’s tattoos; I’ve done custom phone backgrounds and header images; I’ve redrawn photographs; I’ve done a shit-ton of fanart; I’ve drawn people’s original characters—”

“Wait, hang on,” said Lance. “Did you say you redraw photographs?”

“Yeah!” said Keith. “That’s actually one of my favorite things to do, because depending on the photo, the way I redraw it actually varies a lot.”

Lance touched the corner of his photo. “Then I have a commission for you, if you want.”

Keith blinked a few times. “Wait—you want me to redraw your family photo? Dude, that would be the biggest, most complicated project I’ve ever taken on.”

“Oh—oh, if it’s too hard, then you don’t have to do it; it’s totally okay—”

“—Are you kidding me? Of course I’m doing it!” Keith grinned. “It’s gonna be hard, but it’s worth it.”

“Seriously? Oh man, that's great! I've been trying to figure out what to get my family for Christmas, and this'll be perfect.”

“Then I'm definitely doing it,” said Keith. “But… I’m gonna need the original.”

Lance nodded and took the photo off of the wall. “Be careful,” he said as he handed it to Keith. “It’s my only copy of that photo.”

“I will,” Keith promised.

“How much will this cost me?” Lance asked.

“Well, you can take a look at my website to see what my prices usually look like,” said Keith. “But I’m gonna give you a discount, so take those prices with a grain of salt.”

“Keith, you’re the best,” said Lance. Without thinking, he took Keith’s hands in his own. “Thank you so much.”

“Any—” Keith just managed to catch himself before he said _Anything for you._ “Anytime, dude."

 

* * *

 

The commission quickly became Keith’s top priority. When he wasn’t engaged in school-related operations, he was doodling each person in Lance’s photo, working on getting each of their likenesses perfect.

Two days in, he began working on the final piece. He decided to use a piece of paper slightly bigger than the original photo, and, just for the fun of it, to do a little mixed-media.

He refused to let Lance see his progress. Lance would ask him every few days to see, but Keith was firm. This was going to be a surprise, end of story.

It took him ten days, with the picture completed on the very last day before everyone went off for break. Keith ran out of his final exam the minute he was done and went back to Carter to do the last finishing touches. Lance had told him that his bus wasn't until later that evening, so he had time to finish it and give it to Lance before he left.

> **Me: Just finished the commission. Come to my room.**
> 
> **Lance ❤️: On my way!**

Ten minutes later, Lance was knocking on Keith’s door.

“It's open,” Keith called.

The door opened and Lance walked in. “Whoa,” he said. “I've never actually been in here before. I forgot that it was a single.”

“The rare single,” said Keith. “I love it.”

Lance looked around to see that art and art supplies were absolutely everywhere. Keith had apparently transformed his room into a studio. A really tiny studio, but a studio.

And above his desk were practice sketches of Lance and his family.

“These are amazing,” said Lance. “You practiced for the commission?”

“I wanted this to be perfect,” said Keith. “Ready to see it?”

“More than ready,” said Lance.

Keith stepped away from his desk and allowed Lance to approach.

“Oh, Keith,” Lance whispered, almost reverently. “Keith, it's beautiful.”

He picked up the drawing and held it like it was made of glass. “I—this is amazing.”

“I'm glad you like it,” said Keith. “It was an honor to make it.”

Lance stared at it for a few moments, before turning back to Keith.

“Alright, elephant in the room,” he said. “How much do I owe you?”

Keith shook his head. “It's on the house,” he said. “Merry Christmas.”

“Keith—”

“You said this was for your family,” said Keith. “The ones you'd die and kill for. Who am I to make you break the bank for them as well?”

Lance nearly burst into tears.

 

* * *

 

_Three hours later…_

“Thanks for coming with me,” said Lance as they approached the bus stop.

“Sure thing, dude,” said Keith. “Do you already have your ticket?”

Lance shook his head. “Gotta go into that gas station by the Arby’s to get it.”

“I’ll watch your suitcase,” said Keith.

“Thanks,” said Lance, and he ran into the gas station.

A few minutes later, Lance returned with his ticket to see Keith standing under a streetlamp with his suitcase, at just the right angle to have a pale amber halo.

“Is this where we wait for the bus?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. It should be here in a few minutes,” said Lance. “Oh man, I’m so excited to see my family.”

“I bet they’re excited to see you too,” said Keith.

Lance set his hand down on the handle of his suitcase—but he hadn’t realized that Keith’s was still there, meaning that now his hand was on top of Keith’s, and before he could move his hand away, Keith had rotated his hand up and interlaced their fingers and _they were holding hands._

_They were holding hands._

And it felt _amazing._

For the first ten seconds, the world seemed to explode into stars, shattering into light with only their twined hands remaining intact in the shining chaos, and then it settled back into the streetlamps and the car engines and the glowing signs of the gas station and the Arby’s and their hands, still linked, but instead of being the catalyst for cosmic upheaval as they had just been, now their hands faded into the rest of the world, becoming part of a normality neither Lance nor Keith ever thought they’d find.

They were holding hands, and they kept holding hands, and then the entire lot filled with obnoxious light as the bus pulled in.

“Well, there’s my ride,” said Lance. “Thanks again for waiting.”

And then, spurred on by impulse and the lingering trace of a supernova, he leaned over and kissed Keith’s cheek before walking over to the conductor.

“Bye!” he called as he stepped onto the bus. He waved.

Keith waved back, tried to act normal, but the moment the bus was gone, he touched his cheek and held his fingertips there until Shiro texted, asking if the bus had left yet.

 

* * *

 

Lance woke up on Christmas morning to not one, not two, not three, but _four_ little sisters jumping on his bed to wake him up.

“Hey, what’s this?” he asked as he rubbed his eyes. “Can’t you let a man have his beauty rest?”

“It’s Christmas!” Elena almost shouted. “Come on come on come on, Mom and Dad are already downstairs and I think there’s hot chocolate!”

“Hot chocolate? Say no more.” Lance crawled out of bed and allowed his sisters to lead him downstairs.

By the time he was downstairs, he was already singing Christmas carols with the girls at the top of his lungs. He couldn’t help himself.

 _“Feliz Navidad!”_ his parents said together as they came down the stairs.

 _“Feliz Navidad,”_ Lance replied, breaking away from the girls to kiss each of them. “I’m so glad to be back home.”

“We’re happy to have you back,” said his dad.

“Mama, can we open presents?” Selina asked. “Now that Lance is up?”

“Oh, alright,” said María. “You’re so impatient.”

Luci crawled under the tree and began pulling out presents, carefully sorting them into piles for each person.

“Wait, who’s this one for?” she asked.

Lance looked over. She was pointing at Keith’s picture. “That’s my gift to everyone,” said Lance. “We’re gonna open it last, alright?”

“Lance brought us a present?” Selina asked.

Elena punched the air. “Best big brother ever!”

 _Don’t thank me,_ Lance thought to himself. He would tell them when they opened it.

The rest of the presents-opening went by in a blur, although Lance nearly cried when he opened his single envelope and saw the shipping receipt inside saying that a guitar would be waiting for him when he returned to Garrison.

“We all pitched in for that,” Alicia explained.

“I put in my whole piggy bank!” Luci piped up. Lance pulled her into his lap and hugged her tightly.

He definitely _wasn’t_ thinking about that playlist he definitely _didn’t_ make of songs that he would maybe want to learn to—

“Just yours left, Lance,” said Alicia.

Lance reached under the tree and pulled it out. “Mom, you open it.”

His dad and sisters crowded around his mom as she carefully pulled away the wrapping. Keith had, somehow, managed to procure a frame back in his room, and it was honestly by the grace of the Christmas spirit that the whole thing hadn’t broken on the bus ride. But there it was, and the whole family would see it in three… two… one…

“Oh, Lance,” his mother whispered. “It’s our photo!”

Lance nodded, watching as the frame got passed around slowly, carefully.

“Did you draw this?” Selina asked.

“Pppft, like Lance can draw,” said Alicia.

“I mean, she makes a fair point,” said Lance. “No… I commissioned it. I have a copy of the original with me…”

“You had this commissioned?” his dad asked, and then, more quietly, “that can’t have been cheap.”

“Actually… it didn’t cost me,” said Lance. “Remember the friend I told you about? My boss’s cousin?”

“Not easy to forget, seeing as you won’t stop talking about him,” Alicia muttered.

“Oh, stop. He drew this—drew and painted, I think—and then wouldn’t let me pay for it. I tried, but he just… wouldn’t. Alicia, stop it.”

“Elena’s gotten good at carpentry,” Alicia mused. “Thought you might want to know that. She could put a chair up in the tree in our yard… for you two to sit in…”

“You’re lucky it’s Christmas,” Lance muttered, “or else I’d sock your lights out.”

“I’ll do it,” said Elena. “And then I won’t let you pay for it.”

Lance groaned.

 

* * *

 

_Later that night…_

> **Lance ❤️: [2 images]**

Keith smiled as he opened Lance’s message to reveal two pictures: a family photo, set up similarly to the one he had drawn, but with his drawing in Luci’s lap, and then a selfie that Lance took, making a goofy face with a Santa hat on as his sisters and parents waved from behind him.

> **Lance ❤️: Your drawing went up in the place of honor by the sofa**
> 
> **Me: So they liked it?**
> 
> **Lance ❤️: They loved it**
> 
> **Lance ❤️: I owe you bigtime, dude**
> 
> **Me: Nah…**
> 
> **Lance ❤️: Hey, my sisters are all begging me to FaceTime you, do you mind? Just for a few minutes**
> 
> **Me: Go for it!**

Keith answered the FaceTime call to see that Lance was holding the phone at arm’s length while surrounded by giggling little sisters.

“Hey,” said Lance. “These are the girls right here. I suppose you know their names by now.”

Keith waved. “Hey there. Um… drawing you was fun, I guess?”

“Dude, how long did that even take you?” asked Alicia.

“Ten days,” said Keith. “Well. Twelve if you count practice sketches.”

“You spent two days doing practice sketches for this? And you didn’t make him pay for it? Dang.”

“Yeah, well…”

Suddenly, the camera was pointing at Luci. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Luci. Lance said you’re like me.”

Keith grinned. “Yeah, yeah I am. So’s my best friend, Pidge.” He leaned in close and whispered, “We’re the coolest, y’know. Way cooler than dorks like your brother.”

“Oi!” Lance called. “I heard that.”

“I can vouch for Lance being a dork,” said Alicia. The twins nodded in agreement. “And besides, everyone knows that Luci is the coolest of us all.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s fair,” said Lance. “But I am _not_ a dork.”

“You had your friend draw our photo for our Christmas present,” said Elena. “That’s kinda dorky.”

Alicia muttered something that Keith couldn’t make out, but apparently irritated her brother, as Lance promptly shoved her out of frame.

“Okay, we’re gonna go now,” said Lance.

“Alright,” said Keith. “I’ll see you back at school, yeah?”

Lance grinned. “I can’t wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [follow my voltron blog!](https://everything-quiznaks-so-much.tumblr.com)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance returns to Garrison.

Lance sighed as he stepped onto the bus. He had exchanged hugs and kisses with his parents and sisters multiple times each, but it still hurt to say goodbye. Even the thought of seeing his friends, going back to Altea, and the guitar waiting for him on campus didn’t really cheer him, not with the knowledge that he wouldn’t see his family again until March.

But alas, school was starting again, and he had to return.

He put in his earbuds and began playing music, taking solace in the angelic power of Beyoncé. His family was getting farther and farther away, but at least he had the one true queen.

The bus ride was bittersweet, and honestly Lance just wanted it to end, wanted to feel less like he was in limbo between two happy places. When the bus finally pulled into the parking lot where he and Keith had waited together two weeks prior, Lance couldn’t be happier that it was over.

He stepped off of the bus, grabbed his bags, and watched the bus pull away and leave the lot. The sun was starting to go down already, and he knew that he had to start walking back to Garrison if he wanted to get there before dark—

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud honking sound and the whoosh of engines as a bright yellow car—Hunk’s—pulled up in front of him. The windows were down, revealing Hunk in the driver’s seat and Pidge next to him.

“Get in, loser; we’re going shopping!” Pidge called. Hunk snorted.

“You guys,” Lance whined as Hunk popped the trunk. “You didn’t need to pick me up.”

“And yet, here we are,” said Hunk.

Lance climbed into the back seat to see that Keith was in the car as well, right behind Hunk. “Oh, hey,” he said.

“For the record, having Pidge quote Regina George was not our idea,” said Keith. “She did that on her own.”

“It was appreciated,” said Lance. “Mean Girls is an absolutely fantastic movie, and anyone who says otherwise can fight me. Anyway, how was your break?”

The four of them chatted back and forth the whole ride back to Garrison, trading little stories about their vacations. It wasn’t until they pulled back into campus that Lance and Keith realized they’d been holding hands for the past ten minutes, and they only realized it because they had to let each other go when they exited the car.

But when they were out of the car, and Lance had his suitcase in hand, and they were walking back to Carter, they linked hands again, and this time, it was intentional.

~~~~

From then forward, Lance and Keith were all but inseparable. They had finally figured out what classes they had together, and now were traveling to all of their classes together, eating together, and often times they would spend hours in one of their rooms, sitting on the bed and talking until they had to separate for lights-out. Sometimes, Lance would play his new guitar and sing.

Occasionally they managed to have time to themselves, but more often than not, they were joined by Hunk, Pidge, and Rose, who was now Pidge’s girlfriend, as Pidge flat out  _ would not stop mentioning. _ The old study room, once Keith and Pidge’s secret place, was now where they ate cupcakes and played music off of their phones as a group almost every week. Lance, Hunk, and Rose were even helping Keith and Pidge with Rover, which, thanks to the extra hands and brains, Pidge was certain would be done and ready to propose to the administration by the end of the school year.

For the first time, Keith had a real group of friends, and it was incredible.

And then there was Lance, who held hands with him all the time and played guitar for him and sold him caramel macchiatos with that sunshine smile and kissed his cheek once under a streetlamp and cuddled him on occasion, but whenever someone asked if they were dating, he trailed off, looked to Keith to answer the question, and Keith could only shrug.

Someday, maybe the answer to that question would be yes.

But in the meantime, they had what they had: each other and their friends.

And, apparently, the entire Harry Potter collection on DVD.

It was the first Saturday in February, and that meant squad movie night in Keith’s room. They pooled their money together to splurge for takeout, brought pillows and blankets and other such items from their rooms, and watched movies in their pajamas until someone fell asleep.

“Hey, Keith, isn’t your birthday coming up?” Pidge asked. Prisoner of Azkaban had just ended. Hunk was in the process of putting in Goblet of Fire.

Lance shot straight up from Rose’s giant beanbag. “Your birthday? When is it?”

“Dude,” Keith groaned. He had been curled up next to Lance and had almost hit his head. “Next time, a little warning.”

“Sorry… but seriously, when is your birthday?”

Keith sighed. “February 14th.”

“Your birthday is Valentine’s Day?” Lance asked. “Dude, that’s so cool!”

“Got any plans?” Hunk asked. “It’s your sweet sixteen, isn’t it? Gotta do something great.”

“Well, um…”

There was silence, for one, two, three seconds, and then Rose broke it with a perfect deadpan:

“Oh, for God’s sake,  _ just go out already. _ ”

Everyone burst out laughing. Even Lance let out a little snort.

Keith buried his face into Lance’s shoulder.

“Well?” Lance asked softly, almost so quietly that only Keith could hear. He gently rested his hand on the back of Keith’s head, tangling his fingers into that stupid, stupid mullet. “Whaddya say, Keith? I’m in if you are.”

“Keith, I swear if you say no I will actually defenestrate myself,” said Pidge. She had just learned  _ defenestrate  _ a few days ago, and it had become her favorite word. “You’ve been pining after this boy for—”

“—Okay, okay,” said Keith. “Let’s do it.”

~~~~

They decided to go ice skating.

The rink was surprisingly un-crowded, despite the fact that it was Valentine’s Day, which was all the better for Keith seeing as he didn’t like crowds. Perhaps it was the fact that they decided to go in the evening, when most people considered it too dark and too cold to skate.

“I can’t believe you’ve never been ice skating before,” said Keith as they put their skates on.

Lance shrugged. “I dunno, I’ve just never really had the opportunity to. Let’s just hope I’m not too bad at it.”

“I’ll hold your hand,” Keith suggested, grinning.

Lance smiled back. “That would be lovely.”

As it turned out, Lance didn’t need much hand-holding, as he was pretty good on the ice. That wasn’t to say they didn’t hold hands, of course, because they did, almost the whole time, as they made lazy circles around the rink.

“Hey, look,” said Keith. “Someone else had the same idea as us, to come late.”

Another couple was making their way onto the rink, two other guys who looked a bit older than Keith and Lance. Around Shiro’s age, maybe? Anyway, they were holding hands and grinning at each other like idiots.

“Shit, they’re good,” Lance whispered, staring. They were taking advantage of the near empty rink to show off and jump and spin, and from the way they faced each other and smirked, they were competing against one another.

“Okay, but look at the one closer to the wall,” said Keith. “How ridiculously Extra™ do you have to be to have silver hair and gold skate blades?”

“Holy shit, you’re right.” Lance snickered. “That is Extra™. Perhaps I could take a lesson from him.”

“I would pay you not to,” said Keith.

The other couple had made their way to one of the lamps illuminating the rink and were kissing under it, holding onto each other, not caring who saw them.

_ Someday we might do that,  _ Lance thought. He held onto Keith’s hand a bit tighter.

A cold breeze blew over the rink. Keith shivered a bit. “Cold?” Lance asked softly. He pulled Keith close and hugged him gently, rubbing his arms. “Wanna go back to Garrison? Order pizza, watch a movie in your room?”

“Sure,” said Keith.

~~~~

_ “The garbage will do!” _

Lance and Keith both laughed as Daisy Ridley and John Boyega ran towards the Millennium Falcon.

“Yes, the garbage will do,” said Keith. “That’ll be how I explain today to Shiro, by the way.”

“I take offense,” said Lance. “Are you calling me garbage?” Keith said nothing, instead nuzzling closer to Lance, smiling into his shoulder.

Lance’s phone buzzed from the desk. “Pizza’s here,” said Lance. “I’m gonna go get it, okay?” On a whim, he kissed the top of Keith’s head before crawling out of the bed and heading downstairs.

“Cheers,” Keith said, raising his pizza slice. “To keeping Pidge from defenestrating herself.”

They finished the movie and ate their pizza in silence, finishing the entire box by the time the last credits rolled.

“We should go to bed,” said Lance. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah,” said Keith. He didn’t want the night to end, but he supposed that there would be others.

Keith insisted on “walking Lance home,” even though his room was literally next door. They lingered in front of Lance’s door, facing each other, holding hands, silently.

_ I really want to kiss him,  _ Keith thought.  _ I really, really, really— _

“SHALALALALALA MY OH MY—”

Keith almost jumped out of his own skin at the sudden noise. He turned to see that Hunk had opened the door to Lance’s room and was now singing at them.

“—LOOK LIKE THE BOY TOO SHY AIN'T GONNA KISS THE NERD—”

“Dude, what are you doing?” Lance groaned.

“—SHALALALALALA AIN’T THAT SAD, AIN’T IT A SHAME, TOO BAD, HE GONNA MISS THE NERD—”

Lance stared at his friend incredulously. “Did you seriously just replace ‘kiss the girl’ with ‘kiss the nerd?’ Dude, what the quiznak?”

“It scans,” Hunk protested.

“It so doesn’t,” Keith retorted. He looked up at Lance. “Well…?”

Lance smiled. His hand was already caressing Keith’s cheek. “Absolutely,” he said, and he leaned in, and they kissed, and they kissed, and they kissed, and once again the world fell away and became stars.

They pulled apart just as the world began to come back together, still holding onto each other. Hunk whooped, but neither of them could hear it.

“So,” Lance whispered, pulling Keith even closer into his arms, stroking that stupid, stupid, stupid, stupidly beautiful mullet. “Was that a good birthday?”

“Are we dating?” Keith asked. “Are we… a thing?”

“If you want us to be,” said Lance. “God knows I’d like that.”

“Then yes, it was a good birthday,” said Keith. “The best.”

“I’m glad,” said Lance. They kissed again, slowly, softly.

“I don’t want to leave,” Keith admitted as they pulled apart again.

“Me neither,” said Lance. “But I’m tired, and you’re tired, and I have work tomorrow.”

“I forgot about that,” said Keith. “I’ll come visit you tomorrow, alright?”

“You’d better.”

Keith nodded. He got up on tiptoe ever so slightly and kissed Lance’s cheek. “G’night, Lance.”

_ “Sueño con los ángelitos, cariño,”  _ said Lance.  _ Dream with the angels, darling. _

They parted, slowly, reluctantly, but as soon as they were each back in their own rooms, they punched the air.

> **Lance ❤️: Happy birthday, Keith ❤️**
> 
> **Me: Thanks ❤️**

_ Finally. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally.
> 
> Next chapter will be out pretty soon seeing as chapter 9 is partly done. In the meantime, checkout my [Voltron blog](https://everything-quiznaks-so-much.tumblr.com).


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith had known it for awhile, but now it was really sinking in: He was in love with Lance McClain.

_One month later…_

Keith should have been on top of the world, but he wasn’t.

Sure, he was happy that he and Lance were going out, and he liked the flirtation and the kisses and the way that Lance would pull him close and whisper cheesy lines in his ear, and he liked that they held hands and nuzzled each other as they walked… but that was just it. He didn’t just like it; he _loved_ it.

Keith had known it for awhile, but now it was really sinking in: He was in love with Lance McClain.

And he had no idea whether Lance loved him back.

Pidge had assured him multiple times that he did; of _course_ he did, but Keith wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was his lack of self-esteem driving him, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe that Lance loved him. Liked him, sure, but loved him? Definitely not.

“Well, there’s one way to find out.”

He was with Pidge and Rose in the old study room. Lance and Hunk were at Altea, and they were just about to leave to go see them there when Rose spoke.

Keith turned. “Yeah?”

“Tell him,” said Rose. “Just be like, _Lance, I’m in love with you._ You’re already dating; what’s the worst that can happen?”

“She has a point,” said Pidge, zipping up her backpack (after checking to be _absolutely sure_ that the iPad was in it). She walked up to Rose and took her hand. “You should just tell him.”

“But—”

“Why won’t you?” Rose asked. “Do you really think he’ll say he doesn’t love you back?”

“I don’t know,” Keith mumbled. “I just don’t know…”

 _“Our doubts are traitors / And make us lose the good we oft might win / By fearing to attempt,”_ Pidge said softly.

“Since when did you quote Shakespeare?” Keith asked. “Thought that was my thing.”

“It is your thing,” said Pidge. “That’s why I’m doing it. If anything will get through to your stupid head, it’s a little bit of the Bard, or else that self-centered lowkey fascist Irish dude you’re convinced is bi.”

“Don’t you insult William Butler Yeats, Katie,” Keith retorted. “He may have had a superiority complex and shitty ass politics, but his writing is beautiful, and if you were to actually _read_ ‘In Memory of Major Robert Gregory,’ you’d be thinking he was bi too.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Dude, you really should tell him.”

Keith glared at her for a split second—how _dare_ she say “whatever” about his favorite poet—but then remembered her actual point. “Yeah, okay. I’ll tell him. Eventually.”

“Nope,” said Pidge. “You’re telling him today. You have twenty-four hours to tell him.”

“Or else?” Keith asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

“Or else I’ll tell him for you,” Pidge said firmly, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. “And don’t think that I won’t do it, either.”

Keith sighed. He knew that she would, and he didn’t like it. But he also knew, in that part of him that he resented, that she was right.

“In delay there lies no plenty, Keith,” she said, quoting Shakespeare with that same soft reverence as before, the reverence that she knew Keith held for words.

She knew him better than almost anyone else.

“Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll do it.”

“Oh, thank god,” said Rose. “Now can we please go? I want one of those muffins.”

~~~~

“Hey,” Lance said as the three of them approached the counter. “Thought you’d never show up. I was worried you’d forgotten about me.”

“Forget about you?” Keith laughed. “As if. No, we were just in the study room, talking.”

“Ah, I see,” said Lance. “Well, I’m glad you’re here now. Lemme make your drink, yeah?”

A few minutes later, they were at their regular table. Keith grinned lazily as he took another sip of his caramel macchiato. He’d had it a thousand times, but it never stopped being perfect.

Or perhaps, that was him thinking about the barista who made it…

“Quiznak,” he muttered under his breath. “I really am hopeless…”

“You alright?”

He looked up, and of course Lance was standing over him, gazing down at him with soft concern.

“Oh… yeah, I’m fine,” said Keith. “Hey.”

Lance brushed a bit of hair from Keith’s face, allowing his fingers to gently caress Keith’s forehead and cheeks. “Are you sure? You seem a little… I dunno. We’ll talk when I get off of my shift, alright?”

“Yo, guys, it’s the first Saturday in March,” said Pidge. “Movie night tonight, yeah?”

“Oh yeah!” said Lance.

“Sweet!” said Pidge. “I’m gonna hit up the Thai place my brother works at and bring us home a feast. I’ve been there a few times before; the food is amazing.”

“Sounds great,” said Lance. He turned back to Keith. “Alright, I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you tonight, yeah?”

“Yeah,” said Keith. “Hey, Lance—” He held out his refill mug. “Another?”

“Shiro’s gonna kill me if I give you too much more espresso,” said Lance, taking the mug from Keith’s hand. He bent down and kissed Keith’s forehead. “But you’re cute, and I can’t help myself.”

~~~~

_A few hours later…_

There was a loud knocking at Keith’s door. “Let us in, losers!” Pidge shouted from the other side. “Rose and I have food!”

Keith laughed and untangled himself from Lance to open the door. “Hey there,” he said. “Lance, did you say that Hunk was gonna be here?”

“He might be a little late,” said Lance. “He said to start without him.”

“Alright,” said Keith. “Well, we all still have to get our pajamas on and get pillows from our room and stuff, so we may as well do that before he gets here.”

“Can we leave the food here?” Rose asked.

“Yeah, sure, put it on my desk,” said Keith.

A loud _ding_ filled the room. “Oh, that’s me,” said Lance. “It looks like Hunk texted the group chat. I’ll tell him the plan.”

> **[[the squad™]]**
> 
> **Ray Of Sunshine☀️: just got off of my shift - on my way now!!**
> 
> **Me: gr8. Rose and Pidge just showed with food, we’re gonna all go back to our rooms and grab our pjs and blankets and stuff while we wait for you to come back**
> 
> **Ray Of Sunshine ☀️: sounds like a plan!**
> 
> **Me: Want me to bring your usual contributions to the pillow pile?**
> 
> **Ray Of Sunshine ☀️: yes pls!!! ❤️❤️ I’ll get my pjs on quickly when I come back!**

~~~~

_Fifteen minutes later…_

“Okay, we’re eating on the floor,” said Keith. Hunk had just texted to say that he was back in Carter and would be there soon, and Pidge and Rose had just returned from their rooms in their pjs. “I’m not getting food on my sheets for the fifth time.”

Hunk came in about five minutes later, just as they finished opening the bags of food. “Oooh, smells good in here,” he said. “Pidge, you brought us the goods!”

“Sure did,” said Pidge. “Matt gave me a giant discount. Something about being his sister, and hanging out with Shiro’s cousin…”

“Well, that’s awesome,” said Hunk. “And the food looks amazing.”

“It tastes amazing too,” said Rose, holding up her piece of chicken satay. “You _gotta_ try this, dude.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.”

They ate, and watched movies, and laughed and talked, and Keith found himself curled into Lance’s side again. He always seemed to be the little spoon, and it was so soft and warm there…

_Shit, shit, I want to tell him but I’m so scared…_

Fuck it. Quiznak. He was gonna do it.

“Lance, I need to tell you something,” he said.

Pidge paused the movie. The room fell silent, save for the soft crunch of the spring roll Rose was eating.

“What’s up?” Lance asked.

Keith took a deep breath, pulled away from Lance’s arms, and faced him. “I’m in love with you,” he said. “I’ve been in love with you for quiznak knows how long. And I know that we’re dating but I have no idea if it’s like, a casual thing or something… I just. I have no idea whether you feel that way about me, and if you don’t… I need to know. I need to know, so I don’t get sucked into this too much, because I’m scared that if I stay and you don’t love me I’ll just get hurt and now I’m rambling I’m sorry I—”

He broke off, trying to form words, but could only make a strangled noise in the back of his throat. Tears started forming. The world felt like it was falling into a black hole.

“Let’s go into my room,” Lance said quietly. Keith nodded, but after that everything went a bit hazy. He didn’t realize that Lance was leading him out of the room, didn’t realize that they were walking down the hall, didn’t realize that they were in Lance’s room and that Lance was standing in front of him. Everything seemed far away, dark, like the cold and emotionless void was about to swallow him and pull him into an endless miasma of loneliness and heartbreak.

And then he saw a star, and he ran towards it, longing for some sort of light even if he could never reach it, and it wasn’t until he was being pulled in and he heard his name from somewhere above him, that he realized where he was, and the world began coming together, and Keith broke down in tears.

“Oh, Keith,” Lance cooed from above him. He smelled like coffee and caramel and somehow like the ocean, and he was warm and he was soft and he was _there._ “I’ve got you. I’m right here. And of course I love you. Of course I do. I always have.”

“I love you,” Keith whispered brokenly, clinging to Lance, his star, crying, “I love you, I love you, Lance, I love you—”

“I love you too,” said Lance, hugging Keith as close as he could, shushing him, stroking his hair. _“Te amo, cariño. Te amo. Te amo.”_

 _So this is what’s been troubling you,_ Lance thought, a little bitterly. Of course. Of course this could have been alleviated if he’d just said something, if he’d just told Keith his feelings right away. Of course. But now here they were.

He rubbed Keith’s back in circles, still soothing him in Spanish, in English, in whispers that didn’t quite form words, holding Keith tight until he eventually calmed down a bit.

“Keith,” he said quietly, caressing Keith’s cheek.

Keith looked up at him, teary, red-eyed. “Yeah?”

“I googled your poem,” said Lance. “The one you recited part of in the canoe. I found the rest of it.”

Keith sighed. “I figured you would.”

“Listen, Keith,” said Lance. “I don’t care whether you actually forgot the rest or not, and if you didn’t actually forget, I don’t care why you didn’t tell me. All I care about is here, and now, and…” He pulled away for a moment, taking Keith’s hands in his as he began to recite, _“I had a thought for no one’s but your ears: / That you were beautiful, and that I strove / To love you in the old high way of love; / That it had all seemed happy, and yet we’d grown / As weary-hearted as that hollow moon.”_

Keith’s eyes were shining by the end of the poem. They leaned into each other wordlessly and simultaneously.

“You memorized the rest of the poem,” Keith said as they pulled apart. Their foreheads were resting together.

“Well, not all of it,” said Lance. “I ignored the beginning.”

Keith laughed. “Yeah, that’s fair. The beginning of that poem is kinda pretentious.”

“But I love the end,” said Lance. “I love the end, and I love you.” He wiped a few tears away from Keith’s eyes and planted soft kisses all over his face, making his boyfriend blush and _oh shit was that adorable._

And that was when Keith yawned, and when he did, he stretched his mouth all wide and closed his eyes and looked like a cat with a mullet, and _oh shit was THAT adorable._

“Come on,” Lance said softly. He led Keith over to his bed, sat them both down the long way, and pulled Keith into his arms.

Without realizing it, he started singing…

 _Now the parking lot is empty_  
_Everyone's gone someplace_  
_I pick you up and in the trunk I've packed_  
_A cooler and a two-day suitcase_  
_'Cause there's a place we like to drive_  
_Way out in the country_  
_Five miles out of the city limit we're singing_ _  
And your hand's upon my knee_

 _So we're okay, we're fine_  
_Baby I'm here to stop your crying_  
_Chase all the ghosts from your head_  
_I'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed_  
_Smarter than the tricks played on your heart_  
_We'll look at them together, then we'll take them apart_  
_Adding up the total of a love that's true  
Multiply life by the power of two_

Keith yawned and closed his eyes, burying his face into Lance’s shoulder. He’d temporarily forgotten how beautiful Lance’s voice was…

 _You know the things that I am afraid of,_  
_I'm not afraid to tell_  
_And if we ever leave a legacy,_  
_It's that we loved each other well_  
_'Cause I've seen the shadows of so many people_  
_Trying on the treasures of youth_  
_But a road that fancy and fast ends in a fatal crash_ _  
And I'm glad we got off to tell you the truth_

Lance could feel Keith smiling into his shoulder, just a little bit, nuzzling closer, yawning again. He started running his fingers through Keith’s hair…

 _'Cause we're okay, we're fine_  
_Baby I'm here to stop your crying_  
_Chase all the ghosts from your head_  
_I'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed_  
_Smarter than the tricks played on your heart_  
_We'll look at them together, then we'll take them apart_  
_Adding up the total of a love that's true_ _  
Multiply life by the power of two_

 _All the shiny little trinkets of temptation_  
_Something new instead of something old_  
_All you gotta do is scratch beneath the surface  
And it's fools’ gold, fools’ gold, fools’ gold…_

It was right around then that Keith fell asleep, cuddled into Lance’s side. Lance smiled, finally feeling confident that his boyfriend was safe. Still, songs were meant to be finished, and so Lance kept singing, quietly, finishing the song that had turned itself into a lullaby.

 _Now we're talking about a difficult thing_  
_And your eyes are getting wet_  
_I took us for better and I took us for worse,_  
_Don't you ever forget it_  
_And now the steel bars between me and a promise_  
_Suddenly bend with ease_  
_And the closer I'm bound in love to you,_ _  
The closer I am to free_

 _So we're okay, we're fine_  
_Baby I'm here to stop your crying_  
_Chase all the ghosts from your head_  
_I'm stronger than the monster beneath your bed_  
_Smarter than the tricks played on your heart_  
_We'll look at them together then we'll take them apart_  
_Adding up the total of a love that's true  
Multiply life by the power of two…_

There was a soft knock at the door. “Lance?” Hunk said from outside. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah,” Lance called back.

Hunk walked into the room. “The movie just ended,” he said. “Is Keith okay?”

“He’s asleep,” said Lance. “... quiznak, now what?”

He had two choices: bring Keith back to his room, or leave him there. On the one hand, he didn’t want to wake Keith up, and he would have loved to stay with Keith all night. However, he wasn’t sure whether Keith would want that, and he didn’t want to creep Keith out or scare him.

But hey, perhaps Keith _would_ want to stay…

Only one way to know for sure.

“Keith,” he whispered, carefully shaking Keith’s shoulder. “Keith, you gotta wake up for a second.”

Keith mumbled something in his sleep and buried his face into Lance’s shoulder.

“C’mon,” said Lance, nudging Keith again. “Just for a second, okay?”

It took a little coaxing, but eventually Keith very reluctantly opened his eyes.

“I'm sorry for waking you up,” said Lance, “but you need to make a choice now. Either you can stay here for the night, or I can bring you back to your room.”

Keith rubbed his eyes. “You want me to stay with you?”

“It's your choice,” said Lance. “I’d love to stay with you, but if you’d rather go back to your room, I totally understand, and I’ll bring you back there.”

Keith would have liked to think that he was carefully considering his options, that he was weighing the pros and cons, but really, it wasn’t that difficult a decision to make. He nuzzled his face into Lance’s shoulder again.

“Wanna stay with me?” Lance asked.

“Yeah,” Keith mumbled. “Is that okay?”

Lance kissed Keith’s temple, scooting a little so they were both properly lying down. “Of course it is.”

He spooned Keith from behind, softly caressing Keith’s arm. “This good?” Keith nodded, already drifting off. Lance began humming quietly, watching as Keith slowly but surely went back to sleep.

“I love you,” Lance whispered one last time, and then he curled a little closer to Keith and fell asleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song lance sings is [Power of Two by Indigo Girls](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj0yVN8pFNw). you can find the full lyrics [here](http://www.metrolyrics.com/power-of-two-lyrics-indigo-girls.html).
> 
> come follow my [voltron blog](https://everything-quiznaks-so-much.tumblr.com)!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has a bad day....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three things:  
> 1\. Okay, so yeah, Lance's birthday was announced and it is not the same as the one in this fic. I'm not going to change the details around in the first chapter just for that because it throws the entire timeline off.  
> 2\. I know this took forever to update, and I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I cannot promise that I'll be any quicker to update in the future, as I'm moving to a new city in just a few weeks, where I will then have a full time job and possibly other jobs on top of that. I'll update when I can.  
> 3\. As you can see, I'm changing the style of texts just a bit. Tell me what you think!

_One week later • Approximately 2:00 PM_

Pidge tried to hold back tears as she took off across the quad. She had never liked most of the kids at Garrison, but she had been spending so much time with her friends that she’d forgotten exactly how terrible so many of the other students really were.

_Just get to the study room,_ she told herself, over and over and over and over. _Then you can cry if you want._

_Turn left. Down the path. Turn right. Through the door. Library. Down the stairs. Turn left. Through the door. Study room._

Keith was already there, waiting. “Hey,” he said. “Whoa, holy crap, are you alright?”

She shook her head, sitting down at the table. She buried her face in her hands.

“I’m here,” Keith said quietly. He laid his hand on her back, tentatively. “Wanna talk about it?” She halfheartedly mimed writing on a piece of paper. “Okay, we can write about it.”

Keith pulled out his binder and grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He handed it to Pidge.

_— I was sitting on one of the benches and chewing on my necklace and flapping and a bunch of kids showed up and started teasing me. They called me the r word and said I have no friends and a bunch of other mean stuff._

She handed the paper back to Keith. His eyes darkened. “Can I talk?” he asked. Pidge nodded. “They’re wrong,” said Keith. “Totally, completely wrong. You’re not the thing they called you, and you do have friends—lots of them.”

_— Why are they so mean to me?_

“I have no idea, but I promise this isn’t your fault. I promise, kiddo.” He gently wrapped an arm around Pidge’s shoulder. “Now, let’s figure out what we’re gonna do now, okay? I have an idea.”

He took the paper and pen back from Pidge and wrote out a chart.

**Attention**                  **Space**

**Lance**

**Keith**

**Rose**

**Hunk**

“Fill this out, okay? I promise, nobody’s gonna be offended if you want them to give you space.”

Pidge took the paper and pen and filled out the chart in seconds.

**Attention** **Space**

**Lance** **✓**

**Keith**   **✓**

**Rose** **✓**

**Hunk** **✓**

“Well then, that was easy,” said Keith. “I’ll text the group chat, okay?”

_— Can I text too?_

“Of course!” Keith grinned. “That’ll actually be really helpful; you can tell us what you want to do and we can all make a plan together.” 

 

 

 

> **[[the squad™]]**
> 
> Hey guys, so Pidge is having a rough day.
> 
> I’m calling emergency squad night
> 
> **Rose:** WAIT WHAT PIDGE ARE YOU OK?????
> 
> **Pidge:** Um… sort of?
> 
> **Rose:** Where are you im on my way right now
> 
> **Pidge:** Keith and I are in the study room.
> 
> **Rose:** On my way ❤️
> 
> **Pidge:** ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> **Lance ❤️:** Yo I’m on break and have like 5 minutes, what happened??
> 
> **Pidge:** TL;DR: people suck.
> 
> Pidge told me she wants to hang out with everyone, hence emergency squad night.
> 
> **Lance ❤️:** Hunk and I are on shift until 5 like usual, so it’ll have to be when we usually do squad night.
> 
> **Pidge:** That’s ok.
> 
> Tbh I really should get some work done… was gonna go to Altea...
> 
> **Pidge:** That’s fine.
> 
> **Rose:** Dont worry sweetheart, i already have a plan for killing time
> 
> **Pidge:** You’re the best ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> **Rose:** There in five minutes ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> **Lance ❤️:** @keith babe you’re welcome to come hang out at Altea until we’re done! ❤️
> 
> I’ll be there ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

 

 

Five minutes later as promised, the door burst open to reveal Rose, who, if her hair and out-of-breath expression was anything to go by, had literally sprinted there.

“Hey, Rose,” said Keith. “Pidge is nonverbal at the moment… I think?” Pidge nodded. “Yeah.”

Rose nodded, took a few seconds to catch her breath, and then walked over to Pidge’s side. “C’mon, bird nerd,” she said, lacing their fingers together. “We can cuddle in my room until our bros are ready for squad night.”

“Hey, while you’re cuddling, figure out what you want to eat for dinner and what you want to watch for squad night,” said Keith.

Pidge nodded. She let go of Rose’s hand, walked over to Keith, and hugged him tightly.

“You’re gonna be alright, kiddo,” said Keith, hugging her back. “We’re all here for you.”

Pidge nodded into his chest, holding on for another few seconds before letting go and returning to Rose’s side.

“We’ll check in later, okay?” said Rose. She had Pidge’s backpack slung over her shoulder.

Keith gave her the thumbs-up. “Want me to update the group chat, or will you?”

“I got it,” said Rose.

 

 

> **[[the squad™]]**
> 
>  
> 
> With pidge and keith in the study room.
> 
> pidge and i are going back to my room for a bit.
> 
> keith is going to altea.
> 
> **keith:** That about sums it up. Pidge and Rose are gonna decide what we’re eating/watching tonight
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** aaa I just saw these texts!! pidge r u ok??????
> 
> **bird nerd:** Yeah, I’m okay. Ish.
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** don’t worry kiddo we’re gonna have a great squad night!!!!!
> 
> **lonce:** Quiznak yeah!
> 
> **bird nerd:** Thanks, guys.
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** ofc!!!!

~~~~

Rose had a plan.

Her plan—well, besides fanning sparks into flames—was to make sure that her girlfriend was happy and appropriately cuddled.

“Alright,” she said softly, giving Pidge’s hand a squeeze as they walked back towards Carter. “I'm gonna drop you off in your room so you can get your pajamas on, and then you can come down to my room, okay?”

Pidge nodded.  _ One step at a time. One step at a time. One step at a time. _

“You’re gonna be okay,” said Rose. She leaned over and kissed Pidge’s cheek before whispering “I love you” against her skin. Pidge giggled at the vibration.

_ One step at a time. _

They reached Pidge’s door, where Pidge’s roommate had left a note on their little whiteboard.

> **Hey Katie, text me when you get this. I’m gonna miss curfew and I need you to cover for me. Also, you left your stats notes on your desk so I copied them. Hope you don’t mind!**
> 
> **—Amberlyn**

“I’ll deal with her,” Rose said gently upon seeing the light fade from Pidge’s eyes. “I happen to have her number; she’s in my Latin class. Just get your pajamas on, alright? And grab anything you want from your room.”

Pidge turned the doorknob and pushed open the door. The room was, as usual, a mess, littered with plaid shirts, floral dresses, oversized scarves, and empty bottles of kale juice that  _ Amberlyn Marie Kane _ couldn’t be bothered to pick up and always spilled its way onto Pidge’s side of the room. And okay, yeah, Pidge’s side was a bit of a mess too; there were always books and papers and things all over, but at least she kept them on her side like a  _ decent human being. _

“Hey. I know she sucks, but I’ll deal with her,” said Rose. “Here, you find your pajamas, and I’ll get rid of some of this trash, alright?”

“Get rid of her,” Pidge mumbled. “She’s trash.”

Rose laughed. “And you’re treasure.”

Pidge turned bright red and began shuffling through her pajama drawer. She knew  _ exactly  _ which pajamas she wanted to wear.

“Excellent choice,” Rose declared upon seeing the fluffy bird pajamas Pidge was holding aloft. “Now go change. I’m gonna go back to my room… and have some words with Ms. Kane.” 

Pidge tugged gently on Rose’s arm.

“Yeah?” Rose asked. “Wha—”

She was cut off by Pidge pressing their lips together for a split second before pulling away.

“Love you too,” said Rose, kissing Pidge’s forehead. “Alright, seriously. The quicker you change, the quicker we can cuddle in my room.”

 

 

> **[[Amberlyn Kane]]**
> 
> sup amberlyn, this is rose from Latin. i also happen to be Dating your roommate
> 
> I saw the note you left for pidge on your whiteboard
> 
> And theres a few things that id like you to know :)
> 
> first off, you dont just COPY someones notes without asking, what the hell???
> 
> second, my beautiful, angelic girlfriend whom i adore will NOT be “covering for you,” whatever the H*ck that means. shes had a Terrible day and will be spending the evening with me and her other friends. either find someone else to “cover for you” or perhaps maybe make curfew like ur supposed to??? ya know just tossin ideas around
> 
> third, Pidge has made it Very Clear to everyone in this school, including you, that she doesnt like being called “katie” except by her family and a few VERY SPECIFIC other people, which you are Not. if half of her teachers can get themselves to call her pidge, SO CAN YOU, thank :)
> 
> fourth, when you return to ur room you will find that i have taken the liberty of putting Every Single Bottle of disgusting hipster juice into the Trash where it belongs, though i hate to insult the trash like that. i have also put all ridiculous and overpriced articles of clothing into the hamper, with no regard as to whether they are clean or dirty, rather like your lack of regard for your roommate
> 
> (oh, except for the ones i liked. those i took)
> 
> and Finally, Screw You
> 
> k bye <3 <3

Rose nodded in satisfaction as she put her phone down. She had been planning her response in her head for the past ten minutes. Now to put on her pajamas as quickly as possible…

There were five knocks at the door—the telltale sign that her roommate was outside. “Rose, you in there? It’s Shay.”

“Hang on just a sec,” Rose called. She finished putting on her pajamas. “Okay, yeah, you can come in.”

Shay opened the door and walked inside. “What’re you in your pajamas for?” she asked.

“Oh, we’re having squad night again,” said Rose. “Pidge had a rough day. Oh yeah, she’s gonna be coming in here any minute to hang out for a bit. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all!” Shay said brightly. “I was actually just about to go out to grab food with Nyma and Floronna and I think some of the other girls from swim team? Anyway, I’ll be out of your way. But hey…”

“Yeah?”

Shay blushed. Her voice grew softer and a bit squeakier. “You’re friends with Hunk Garrett, right? Is he gonna be at your squad night thing?”

Rose laughed. “Yeah, he will. And I’ll tell you what… text me tomorrow morning and I’ll tell you exactly where you can find him.”

“You got it!” said Shay. “Alright, I’ll see you later, Rose!”

“Seeya!”

Shay walked out of the room just as Pidge walked in. “Aww, Pidge, I love your pajamas!” Shay said as they passed each other. “I hope you feel better!”

Pidge gave Shay a halfhearted finger gun before closing the door, kicking off her shoes, and plopping herself on the bed next to Rose.

Rose smiled, kissed Pidge’s temple, and grabbed her phone. “No text from Amberlyn,” she announced. “But hey, I’m gonna text the others to tell you you’re here.”

> **[[the squad™]]**
> 
> Pidge just got to my room. it’s cuddle time
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** gr8!! lance and i will be off of our shift in a few hrs!!
> 
> **keith:** I’m on my way to Altea now, there in 10
> 
> **lonce:** @keith can’t wait to see you babe
> 
> **keith:** Likewise
> 
> **lonce:** @rose and Pidge you guys should decide what we’re eating/watching tonight!
> 
> **bird nerd:** Is it ok if we get food from my brother’s restaurant? And I kinda just wanna marathon John Oliver…
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** ofc!!!!! whatever u want pidge!
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** if you want u can come with me to pick up the food!
> 
> **bird nerd:** I’d actually really like that, thanks.
> 
> **bird nerd:** D’you think anyone will mind that Rose and I are in our pjs?
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** ofc not! and if anyone does they can Catch These Hands
> 
> **keith:** Alright, I think what makes most sense is that someone places the order right after Hunk and Lance get off of their shift, and then Hunk and Pidge (and Rose?) go and get the food.
> 
> sounds good
> 
> **lonce:** Aight sounds great, oh quiznak Allura’s about to yell at us for texting on the job, Hunk we gotta go
> 
> **sunshine (hunk):** o shit waddup, ok ttyl guys! keef we’ll see you soon!!!

 

 

Rose turned back to see that Pidge was sitting on the bed with her knees up against her chest, tears streaming down her face.

“It’s gonna be okay,” she said softly. She kicked off her shoes and curled up onto the bed, gently tugging Pidge down with her.

Pidge buried her face in her girlfriend’s shoulder and cried.

“I’m here,” Rose whispered, over and over, “I’m here…”

She fell asleep about half an hour later, calming down for a few minutes before drifting off in Rose’s arms.

_ Probably for the better,  _ Rose mused, planting a kiss on Pidge’s forehead. She was well aware of how much Pidge overworked herself, and there was no way that this incident hadn’t drained Pidge’s spoons. And she could already hear Hunk’s voice in her head saying  _ “let the girl rest!” _

So let the girl rest she did, scrolling through Tumblr for a little while before putting her phone down and cuddling Pidge closer, running her fingers through her sleeping girlfriend’s hair. Her mind began to wander, thinking about Pidge, about the boys, about life, about love…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ sing-a-rebel-song or as Mod Keith @ everything-quiznaks-so-much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge's day gets a little bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> text stylization change? again? yeah, sorry, I know I keep doing it but I think I've settled on this style. LMK what y'all think.

Pidge woke a few hours later, mumbling a few things before eventually opening her eyes. At first, she didn’t remember where she was, and as such was confused when she noticed that there was a pair of arms wrapped around her, but then it came back to her, a swirl of memories and crying that ended with being held in Rose’s arms…

“Hey there, sleepyhead.”

Speak of the angel.

She looked up to see that Rose was gazing down at her with what may well have been the softest, gentlest, most _loving_ expression Pidge had ever seen.

“Sleep well?” Rose asked. She ran a finger down Pidge’s cheek.

“Yeah.” Pidge yawned and shifted herself slightly. “How long have I been out?”

“A few hours,” Rose replied.

Pidge blinked. “A few hours? Wait, we didn’t miss squad night, right? Have we kept the boys waiting? You should’ve woken me up!”

“Sssssshhh,” Rose cooed, kissing Pidge’s forehead. She grabbed her phone from the side table, turned on the screen, and showed it to Pidge. “It’s barely five o’clock, see? Lance and Hunk should only just be getting off their shift now.”

At that very moment, a soft _nyoom_ rang out from Rose’s phone. Her hand shook slightly as it vibrated. “Look, Lance just texted us now.”

**[[the squad™]]**

**lonce:** **  
** Hunk and I just got off our shift. The two of us and Keith are on our way back to Garrison now!

 **lonce:** **  
** How’s Pidge doing?

“See? Just got off their shift,” said Rose. “Lance wants to know how you’re doing.”

Pidge shrugged. “Doing alright, I guess.”

**[[the squad™]]**

i got a shrug and a “doing alright, i guess.  
better than nothing  
we’re in my room, she just woke from a 2ish hour nap.

“Grab my phone for me?” Pidge asked. Rose nodded and handed the device over.

Pidge opened her phone and pulled up the group chat.

**[[the squad™]]**

Hey guys. Yeah, I fell asleep cuddling with Rose.  
She’s a very good cuddler, just saying.

 **Rose:** **  
** aw thx babe

 **Hunk:** **  
** pidge did u sleep well??

Yeah, I did. Thanks.

 **Hunk:** **  
** o good! sleep is Very Important!

 **Keith:**  
We’ll be back on Garrison campus in just a few minutes.

Um… this may sound really weird and I’m sorry in advance…  
But would anyone maybe be interested in breaking out my Lego set?  
I have a secret stash under my bed that my roommate hasn’t discovered  
Well, as far as I know  
And she’s not around tonight…

 **Hunk:** **  
** omg y ES

 **Hunk:** **  
** legos are the Best Things

 **Rose:**  
yes yes i am 100% here for this

 **Keith:** **  
** How about Lance and I set up my room for squad night while you guys do that?

 **Lance:** **  
** I’m liking the sound of this plan ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
Shiro is judging you.

 **Hunk:  
** FHSKDJFIIDH  
HOW DID U EVEN GET THAT PHOTO????

Nicked the photo off of my brother’s phone, and then did a little Photoshop.  
Did you know, Matt has an entire album on his phone dedicated to Shiro’s face?

 **Keith:** **  
** That may or may not be a mutual thing…

Disgusting.

 **Lance:** **  
** You can talk, Ms. “I nuzzle my girlfriend every single time we’re next to each other and refuse to let go of her hand even when walking through the snow single file and touch foreheads with her too frequently for anyone’s amusement and gaze at her lovingly every two quiznaking minutes and basically am every single stupid T-rated fanfic/fanart in real life”

… touché.

 **Rose:** **  
** excuse me, YOU can talk mr “i set up a secret gc over xmas break so i could wax poetic abt someone i wASNT EVEN DATING YET”

 **Keith:** **  
** Wait, you did that?

 **Lance:**  
… guilty as charged

 **Keith:** **  
** Awwwwww

 **Hunk:** **  
** you guys are Too Cute ily

 **Hunk:** **  
** we’re almost back @ garrison! pidge i’ll meet u and rose in ur room?

Sounds good; see you there!

~~~~

“Alright, let’s get down to business—”

“—To defeat the Huns?”

Keith blinked a few times. “No, to get ready for—ohhhh.”

Lance grinned. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.”

“You’re a dork,” said Keith. “Seriously, let’s get ready for squad night.”

“I’ll grab a bunch of pillows and blankets from my room,” said Lance. “We can make a fort and surprise Pidge.”

“Oh no, if I know Pidge, I know she’ll want to build the fort with us,” said Keith. “Just bring all the stuff inside and stack it against the wall.”

“Sounds good,” said Lance. He kissed Keith’s cheek quickly and darted out of the room.

Meanwhile, Keith pulled out his phone and texted the group chat again…

**[[the squad™]]**

Hey, Lance and I can call in the food order if you guys want

 **Pidge:** ****  
That’s a good idea.  
Do you remember what we got last time? All that stuff was good.

I do. Hunk, you’ll pick it up, yeah?

 **Hunk:** **  
** ye!!!! pidge n rose r u gonna come with?

 **Pidge:** **  
** Yes, if that’s alright.

 **Hunk:** **  
** ofc!!!! it’ll be a Good Time

 **Lance ❤️:**  
Hunk I’m grabbing all of our pillows and blankets and things and bringing them to Keith’s room

 **Hunk:** **  
** sounds like a plan!!!

 **Rose:** ****  
um guys not to be a Pain but im p starving  
could we call the order in soon?

Yeah, I can do it right now

 **Lance ❤️:**  
Rose you’re not a pain, I’m starving too

Alright, I’ll call in that order.

 _Please let Matt pick up,_ Keith thought as he dialed. He didn’t dislike Matt’s boss or anything, but he wanted to explain the situation.

“Thai Palace, how can I help you?”

 _Oh, thank god._ “Matt? It’s Keith.”

“Oh, hey dude! What’s up? Um. I mean, how can I help you?”

“Heh. We’re doing squad night—”

“—Isn’t that a first Saturday of the month thing?”

“Well, okay… so here’s the deal, your sister just had a rough one and so we’re doing it to cheer her up.”

“Oh, crud, is she okay? What happened? Should I—”

“—She’s fine,” Keith interrupted. “I mean, not _fine,_ but she just was hanging out with Rose and now I think she’s building Lego towers with Rose and Hunk.”

“I’ll text her later. Anyway, you’re ordering food?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Once Keith had finished ordering, and Matt had read it back to him, Keith made one final request:

“Can you be there when they come to pick it up? Pidge really needs to see you, I think.”

“Of course,” said Matt. “Your food will be ready in about twenty-five minutes, alright?”

“Sounds great,” said Keith. “Hunk and the girls will see you then.”

Just as Keith hung up the phone, Lance came into the room, barely visible behind the mountains of pillows and blankets he was carrying.

“Brought the whole kit and caboodle,” he announced as he walked in.

“Clearly,” Keith replied mirthfully. “Need help?”

“Nah, I’m good,” said Lance, making his way across the room. He dumped his pile against one of the walls… and it collapsed all over the floor. “Quiznak… hang on, lemme stack those more carefully…”

Keith laughed and walked to Lance’s side. “You’re adorable,” he said, leaning over and kissing Lance’s cheek. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” said Lance, restacking the pillows and blankets. “You ordered the food?” Keith nodded. “Okay, now what?”

“Now…” Keith sat down on his bed and tugged Lance down next to him. “Now we cuddle.”

A loud ringing sounded through the room. “Quiznak, since when was my phone on that loud?” Lance muttered, sticking his hand in his pocket. “Hey Mom, what’s up? Yeah, sure, I’d love to! Hold on, lemme get my—oh, quiznak. Mama, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot. My laptop is nearly dead and I left my charger in a building that gets locked over the weekend.”

“What’s going on?” Keith asked.

“My sisters want to FaceTime with me, but my laptop is dead and my charger is in the science building.”

“You could use my laptop,” Keith suggested.

Lance turned to see that Keith was reading over his shoulder.

“Wait, really?”

“Sure,” said Keith.

Lance beamed. “Mama, did you hear that? Keith said I can use his laptop. I’m gonna hang up and then I’ll call you from there, okay? Yeah, just get the girls all ready to go. I’ll be there soon.”

He hung up the phone and then turned to Keith. “You're the best,” he said, kissing Keith’s cheek. “Thank you.”

“We can set it up at my desk,” said Keith. “Unless you want to bring it to your room? Have some privacy?”

“No, no, it's fine,” said Lance. “Thank you again, by the way.”

“Seriously, it's fine.” Keith wrapped his arms around Lance and kissed his shoulder. “Go on and set up the call.”

A few minutes later, the Cordero family was waving on Keith’s computer screen.

“Hey guys,” said Lance. “Keith, come in frame.”

“I don't wanna intrude…”

“Oh for quiznak’s sake; it's your laptop. Git.” Lance tugged Keith back in frame. “Here he is, the hero of the day.”

“You really are,” said Maria. “Thank you again for letting us use your laptop.”

“You're welcome,” said Keith. “Um… nice to see you? Sorry, I'm—”

“—You're fine,” said Lance. “A dork, but fine.”

“You can talk, Lance,” said Alicia. “You're the dorkiest and we all know it.”

“Alright girls, Papa and I have gotta go make dinner,” said Maria. “You keep talking.”

“I’ll call you later, Mama,” said Lance. “Bye!”

“Bye, Mrs. and Mrs. Cordero,” Keith said nervously.

Maria laughed. “Call us Maria and Alejandro, please. Talk to you soon!” She and Alejandro waved before walking out of frame.

“Lance, you're coming home soon, right?” asked Luci. “You haven't been home since Christmas!”

“It's almost my March vacation,” said Lance. “So yes, I will. And I _believe_ that _someone_ has an extra special birthday coming up…”

“I'm gonna be six soon!” said Luci. “Lance, are you gonna be there? Are you?” Lance nodded, grinning. She squealed.

“Whoa, whoa, deep breaths,” Lance laughed. “Yes. I'm gonna be home for your birthday. And I'm very excited.”

“Are you gonna bake me a cake?” Luci asked. “Your cakes are the best!”

“Now, that's just not accurate,” said Lance. “You know full well that Papa’s the one who makes the cakes. I just help.”

“But it's better when you're there,” said Luci. “Alicia tried to help Papa with the cake for the twins’ birthday but it wasn't the same.”

“Well, I will absolutely help,” said Lance. “If that is what the birthday princess desires—”

“—Witch,” Luci interrupted. “I'm a birthday witch.”

“My apologies,” said Lance. “If that is what the birthday _witch_ desires, then bake a cake I shall.”

“She just got into the _Harry Potter_ series,” Alicia explained. “We couldn't go to the park a few days ago because of a storm and so I did a dramatic reading of the first book. The twins liked it, but Luci was absolutely hooked.”

“Hermione Granger is my favorite!” Luci exclaimed. “She's so smart!” Her voice dropped a few decibels. “And I think she's like me.”

“What, you think she's also autistic?” Luci nodded eagerly. “I'm down with that.”

“Are you kidding? She's totally autistic,” Keith interjected. “I mean, nobody ever says she is in the books or anything, but I think she is.”

Luci’s eyes widened. “You like _Harry Potter_ too?!”

“Oh, definitely,” said Keith.

“What about your other friend?” Luci asked.

“Who, Pidge? Well, Pidge has a lot of trouble reading,” said Keith. “So she doesn't do it that much.”

“But wouldn't she get better if she did it more?” Luci asked. _“Todo lo difícil se pone más fácil con práctica.”_

“That's something we say at home,” Lance said when Keith looked confused. “It means that everything difficult gets easier with practice. But it's not quite like that, Luci.”

“Pidge is dyslexic,” Keith explained. “That means… okay, how do I explain this.”

“Luci, y’know how you have trouble looking at people’s eyes when they're talking because you're autistic?” Lance interjected. “It's kinda like that, but for Pidge, she has trouble reading because she's dyslexic.”

“Ohhh…” Luci nodded slowly. “That makes sense.” She paused for a second, and then launched into a story about Señor Chicken Nugget, the family lizard.

Keith smiled as he watched Lance talk with his parents and sisters. He loved watching Lance’s eyes light up over and over and over, loved hearing his laugh and excitement. His joy over talking to his family was clear and bright like stars on a cloudless evening and it was _beautiful,_ and for just a moment Keith was able to forget that he barely had a family of his own.

Without thinking, he dropped a kiss on the top of Lance’s head, laying his arms on top of Lance’s as he leaned forward against the chair Lance was sitting in.

“Awwww,” said Alicia. “You two are so cute.”

“Quiznak,” Keith muttered. “Tell me they know—”

“—Trust me, we know,” said Elena. “Lance talks about you all the time.”

“That's not—okay, that might be true,” Lance sighed. “What can I say? I'm happy. I have the best boyfriend in the whole world.”

“I’m pretty sure I do, actually,” said Keith. “But anyway. I’ve been wondering about this for the past ten minutes… how did your lizard end up with the name Señor—am I saying that right?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” said Lance.

“Okay, yeah, so how did the lizard get named Señor Chicken Nugget?”

“I named him,” said Selina. “We got him when me and Elena were five, and nobody could really decide what to name him. And on the way back from the pet store, we went and got Burger King, and we were still trying to figure out what to name him, and I was eating my chicken nuggets and then I just shouted “Chicken nugget! Let’s name him chicken nugget!” and everyone laughed. And then Alicia stuck a Señor at the beginning to be funny and now his name is Señor Chicken Nugget.”

“That’s fantastic,” said Keith. “I wish my cousin were that creative. He named his cat Oreo.”

“Is this the cousin that’s Lance's boss?” Alicia asked.

“Yeah, that would be the cousin,” said Keith.

“And lemme tell you, cat names are far from the only way he’s uncreative,” said Lance. “Today at work I was dealing with a bunch of angry moms and Shiro came up behind me, took off his prosthetic, _poked me with it,_ and asked if I needed a hand. Lemme tell ya, you think it’s bad enough having screaming moms? Try having them see your manager _take his arm off._ Not fun at—Keith, stop laughing,” Lance whined. “It’s not funny.”

Keith leaned down and kissed Lance’s shoulder. “It’s a little funny,” he said, turning his head slightly so that he made vibrations into Lance’s neck. Lance giggled. “See, you’re laughing.”

“That’s because you _tickled_ me, you _jerk,_ ” Lance retorted.

“Did I?” Keith asked innocently. “I thought tickling was more like this…” He poked Lance’s sides with his index fingers, making Lance squeal loudly and lurch forward, his hands grasping the desk before he hit the computer.

“Ooooh, you found his ticklish spots,” said Alicia. “He’s ticklish on his sides, on the side of his neck, but he’s _most_ ticklish—”

“—Alicia Sofia Cordero, if you finish that sentence,” Lance warned.

“On his feet,” Elena piped up. “What? You told Alicia she couldn’t. Didn’t say I couldn’t.”

Lance groaned. “You can’t just go and give away all my weaknesses!”

“Keith, he’s afraid of spiders,” said Selina. “And other bugs. One time there was a medium sized ant in his room and he refused to go in for an hour—”

“—I was nine,” Lance protested. “Wait, how do you even know that? You were a baby. Were you even born?”

“Mama told us,” said Elena. “Keith, did you know that Lance can’t handle the cold? At all? Except he’ll go swimming in the ocean, and then whine about being cold.”

“He’s terrible at video games,” Alicia added. “Downright awful. Loses every time.”

“I actually knew that one,” said Keith. “He tried to play Pidge in Mario Kart and sulked for at least half an hour.”

“For about two years, he got obsessed with putting weird goop on his face,” said Luci. “He looked like an alien every single night.”

“For the record, the only reason I stopped is because the school yelled at me for it because it was hard to get out of the sheets,” Lance informed them. “Or something like that.”

“Um, guys, how have we not mentioned the crying yet?”

The light left Lance’s eyes. “Elena—”

“—You’re right, Elena,” said Alicia, grinning. “We have to fix that, don’t we?”

“Keith, you definitely don’t want to know about—”

“—I had a ballet recital,” Selina interrupted. “Last summer, at the end of my dance camp. And the whole family went, and by the end, Lance was _sobbing._ Didn’t stop crying, even when I finally came offstage to go home.”

Lance gasped, his expression _just_ too dramatic to genuinely appear offended. “What? I’m not allowed to cry over my little sister’s beautiful dancing?”

“He cries at movies,” Elena added. “Even Disney ones.”

“You guys, d’you remember when we watched Sound of Music on New Year’s Eve?” Luci asked loudly. “Lance cried like three times and at the part where the kids all sing Sound of Music for the Baroness, he was all like—” Luci all but _rolled_ off of the couch onto the floor, making loud fake cries. _“That was so beautiful!”_

“I did not sound like that,” Lance muttered, scowling, but as soon as he saw his sisters in hysterics, pulling Luci back up to the couch, the scowl melted into a smile.

“Looks like I’ve found your greatest weakness,” Keith said, kissing Lance’s cheek. “They think we’re cute together, but seeing you go all soft for your sisters is even cuter.”

Two sounds ran through the room simultaneously—a _ding_ and a _beep-boop._ “That’s the group chat,” said Lance.

“I’ve got it.” Keith went over to his phone and opened up the messages. “They’re gonna be here soon.D’you want to take the laptop into your room so you can keep talking?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” said Lance. “Girls, I gotta go. Our friends are about to come back into Keith’s room, and I’m guessing that Mama and Papa will be done with dinner soon enough, anyway.”

Luci began to protest, but Alicia shushed her. “We’ll talk again soon, right?”

“Of course,” said Lance. “And I’ll see you soon, remember? I’ll be home in a week, and then I’m there through the end of the month.”

Luci nodded. “Bye, Lance…”

Lance blew kisses at the screen until Alicia ended the call. He turned towards Keith.

“Thanks for letting me use your laptop,” he said.

Keith kissed the tip of Lance’s nose. “For you, anything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @ sing-a-rebel-song or as Mod Keith @ everything-quiznaks-so-much.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spring break is here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to [Namo](http://eosphora.tumblr.com/) for basically turning into one of this fic's biggest fans in like.... 48 hours. Lots of love.
> 
> This chapter is a little bit shorter, but I hope you still like it!

“I’m gonna miss you.”

They were all at the bus stop again—Lance and Keith and Hunk and Pidge and Rose—but this time, they were congregated to send Lance back home for spring break.

“I know you will,” said Keith. “But we’ll see each other soon. And now you get to see your family.”

“True. But I’ll still miss you.”

Keith planted a kiss on Lance’s forehead. “You’ll be alright.”

“I know.”

They stood there for awhile, holding hands, talking with Hunk and Pidge and Rose. At some point, Keith’s arm slipped around Lance’s waist, natural, easy, and Lance’s head came to rest on Keith’s shoulder.

“I love you,” Lance murmured gently, softly enough that it didn’t interrupt the conversation. Keith responded by pulling Lance closer, saying more with that gesture than what words could do justice.

The bus pulled in all too soon. Lance sighed, overcome by the bittersweetness.

“I’ll see you soon,” said Keith. They kissed one more time, and then Lance boarded the bus and was gone.

Keith looked around at the others once the bus was out of eyeshot. “So. I’ll see you all in a week. We’re meeting at Altea, yeah?”

“Next Saturday, Altea, at exactly two o’clock,” said Pidge.

The four of them shared a smile. Lance had no idea what was coming…

~~~~

Lance was pretty sure that there was no better feeling than the soaring rush that came to him every time he saw his family for the first time in awhile. Luci had just spotted him in the terminal and was now running towards him, eyes shining as the others followed her.

There were no words for moments like this. All he could do was scoop his baby sister into his arms and hug her close, holding back tears of joy.

Keith was right—Lance’s family did make him go soft.

“Alicia’s still reading me the _Harry Potter_ books,” Luci said in the car. “Now we’re halfway through the third one.”

“And Hermione’s still your favorite?” Lance asked.

“Yes!” Luci exclaimed.

“Keith was really excited to hear how much you liked those books,” said Lance. Alicia snorted from the backseat. Per Luci’s request and puppy dog eyes, she was in back with the twins instead of in the middle row with Lance, as Luci had wanted to sit with her brother.

“Why did Alicia just laugh?” Luci asked.

“She thinks it’s funny that I talk about Keith so much,” Lance explained. “But I think it’s perfectly appropriate. He is my boyfriend after all.”

“I think it’s fine,” Elena piped up. “Makes for great blackmail.”

Lance groaned. The girls all laughed. Even their parents could be heard snickering from the front seat.

“But anyway,” said Lance as the laughter subsided, “Keith was excited to hear you liked _Harry Potter,_ Luci. Said that those books were his favorite when he was your age.”

“What’s his favorite now?” Luci asked.

“Hang on; I’ll ask him… he says he still loves Harry Potter but likes poems more than books,” Lance relayed.

“Harry Potter is the best,” said Luci. “Keith is cool.”

“Indeed,” said Lance. He leaned over and ruffled Luci’s hair.

“Lance, you’re still working at that café, right?” Maria asked.

“I am,” said Lance. “And I absolutely love it. It’s so much fun.”

“I think it’s great that you have a job,” said Alejandro. “Mama and I have been saying for awhile how proud we are of you.”

Lance beamed. “Thanks, Papa.”

“I’m proud of you too!” said Luci. “You’re the best big brother ever!”

Lance ruffled Luci’s hair again. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”

~~~~

March break was hard because the girls still had school, so Lance couldn’t really spend time with them. However, he did keep himself busy, practicing guitar and going for walks and getting better at video games—and making himself lunch. He hadn’t gotten to cook in far, far too long, and making coffee just wasn’t the same.

At night, everyone came home, and Lance helped his parents cook dinner and helped the girls do their homework and just was _there,_ the way he always had back in middle school, before he left his family behind.

When he was at Garrison, he missed his family, but not in a way that ached from day to day. But now that he was home, it hit him how much he was missing by being away. One night at dinner, Luci told him that the tooth fairy had given her five whole dollars so far, one for each tooth, and Lance had had to remind himself that _of course_ Luci had lost her first teeth; she was in kindergarten. He had missed that. Selina almost _skipped_ through the door his fourth night home, proudly proclaiming that she had gotten her third A in a row on a math test. Third grade was the first year that they started giving letter grades on tests. He had missed A’s numbers one and two. Elena had won the third grade Invention Convention back in February. He had missed the planning, the building, the convention itself. When Alicia came down the stairs whining about cramps, Lance realized that he’d missed _that_ milestone as well.

His sisters were growing up, and Lance was missing all of it.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay.”

He was Skyping with Keith, and had just lamented all of his feelings.

“Lance, you’re an awesome brother,” Keith said reassuringly. “Your sisters adore you and you adore them, so you’re all good.”

“I adore you,” said Lance. Keith blushed profusely. “Holy quiznak, you’re so cute.”

“So are you,” said Keith, gently poking the camera. “Boop. Got your nose.”

Lance laughed. “Oh! I finished teaching myself a new song today. Wanna hear it?”

“Yes!”

Lance nodded and pulled out his guitar, tuning it quickly before beginning…

_I can go one day without calling_   
_Two days without bawling_   
_Three days without missing_   
_But a lifetime of no kissing you_   
_Is something that I just can’t do._ _  
I wish I could be there to share the moon_

_I got more back for the breaking_   
_More callous for making_   
_A lifetime for the aching_   
_I got no need to run this battery down._   
_I’m just trying to get the stains out.  
I wish I could be there to share the moon_

_Hey la la_   
_I’m gonna love you till it hurts_   
_I don’t mind if I do_   
_Hey la la_   
_I’m gonna love you till it works_ _  
I’ve got no mind to lose_

_There’s one trash heap burning_   
_Fireflies are returning_   
_Nightfall is softly chirping_   
_One trailer light is staying on till dawn_   
_I wonder who it’s waiting on  
I wish I could be there to share the moon_

_Hey la la_   
_I’m gonna love you till it hurts_   
_I don’t mind if I do_   
_Hey la la_   
_I’m gonna love you till it works_ _  
I’ve got no mind to lose_

“That was beautiful,” said Keith, beaming.

“It’s by the same artist as… um, remember a month or whatever ago, when we cuddled in my room and you fell asleep?” Keith nodded. “I don’t know if you remember, but I sang… it’s by that artist.”

“It’s beautiful,” Keith said again.

“I mean it,” said Lance. “I wish I were with you right now. I miss your kisses and your cuddles.”

“You’re really gay,” said Keith. “I love you.”

“I gotta go,” said Lance. “It’s almost dinner time.”

“You go eat,” said Keith. “See you soon, babe.”

_Sooner than you think._

~~~~

_The next day, 2:00 PM…_

“Behave yourselves in the back seat, ladies,” Hunk warned. “I will have no problem demanding that one of you switch with Keith.”

“Okay, but what counts as behaving?” Pidge asked. “Are we allowed to cuddle? Kiss? What's allowed here?”

Hunk took a deep breath, in and out. “Just… don't make out in my car.”

Rose wrinkled her nose. “Dude, I’m way too ace for that shit.”

“Duly noted. Now let’s go.”

“Can I pick the music?” Keith asked.

Hunk stared at him incredulously. “Um, no? Driver picks the music; shotgun shuts his cakehole.”

“Just for quoting _Supernatural,_ you lose the right to pick the music,” said Rose.

Hunk smirked. “And how do you know that that’s from _Supernatural,_ hmm?”

Rose went pink instantly. “I went through a phase.”

“You're adorable,” said Pidge, and she kissed Rose’s cheek, and Rose turned bright _red._

“Your music taste better not be shit,” said Keith, climbing into the passenger seat.

“It's not!” Hunk whined, and then, more quietly, “Hamilton the Musical is _not_ shit.”

Keith groaned loudly.

“Everyone ready?” Hunk asked. Pidge gave him the thumbs up. “Let's do this.”

He turned the ignition on and pressed play.

~~~~

_Two hours, twenty-two minutes, and thirteen seconds later…_

“Keith—dude, are you okay?”

“That—that was…” Keith blinked a few times. “I had no idea that a bunch of old dead white people would make me have so many feelings.”

“That's the great power of Lin-Manuel Miranda for you,” said Hunk.

“Also? Washington? Serious talent right there.”

“The actor is an ableist shitbag,” said Pidge. “Don't go on his Twitter any time during the month of April if you know what's good for you.” Keith groaned loudly. “Yeah. But yeah, the man can sing.”

Keith wiped a few definitely not tears away. “How long until we get there?”

“Fifteen minutes, plus or minus an ear,” said Pidge.

“Plus or minus—what?!”

Pidge grinned. “You don't know about Oliver Smoot and the Harvard Bridge? Here, this'll cheer you up. See, this MIT fraternity pledge…”

~~~~

Something was up.

The entire day, Lance’s sisters had been weirdly giggly and sharing looks with one another, as though there was something they knew that he didn't. Weirder still, Luci kept sneaking looks out the window, but from what Lance could tell, nobody was supposed to come and visit.

Ah well. They carried on as normal. Lance had managed to wrangle Allura’s top secret cookie recipe out of Hunk, which kept him and the girls busy most of the afternoon.

(The rest of the afternoon was spent keeping the girls away from the tantalizing plate of cookies on the table.)

“Lance, can you do my hair?” Luci asked. “You always do it the prettiest.”

“But of course,” said Lance, and he allowed his little sister to lead him to her room.

He smiled as he started brushing her hair out. Ever since his parents got married, doing hair for little sisters was part of his job. At first, he wasn't the best at it, and Alicia had ended up with a lot of mishaps, but as he started having more practice (and more sisters), it became easier.

“Want me to do it how I usually do it?” Luci nodded. “You got it.”

~~~~

“Alright,” said Lance as he finished tying the braids together. “How did I do?”

Luci grabbed the small mirror off of the counter and turned around, holding the mirror up like Lance had taught her so she could see her reflection. “I love it!” She flapped her hands a few times. “Thanks, Lance!”

There was a knock at Luci’s door, and then Alicia’s voice. “Lance! Luci! Come downstairs!”

“We’ll be right there,” said Lance. “Perfect timing, eh?” Luci was grinning at him. “What?”

“C’mon,” said Luci, brushing past him and opening the door. Lance shrugged. Just more weirdness. By the time he came to the top of the stairs, she’d already made her way to the bottom, and he could hear her voice in the living room.

“You guys have all been really weird today,” said Lance as he finished coming down the stairs. “Seriously, what—”

And there they were. Sitting in the living room. Squished together on the couch. Talking with his family.

His friends.

Lance stood there dumbfounded for a few moments, staring. It took him a solid thirty seconds to find anything to say, and even then he could only get out a “What the cheese?!”

Keith grinned from the far side of the couch. “Surprise?”

“You—what are you guys doing here?! How—when—what—??!!”

“Your family invited us,” Pidge explained. “They wanted to surprise you. We’re here for the rest of vacation.”

“It was my idea!” Luci piped up. “Lance? Are you okay?”

Lance bit his lip, trying to hold back tears. “You’re all here,” he said. “Holy quiznak, you’re all here—”

Keith stood up and walked over to Lance, taking his hands. “Yup. We’re here.”

They stood that way for about seven seconds, and then Lance threw his arms around Keith’s neck, fifty percent crying and fifty percent laughing and one hundred percent showering his boyfriend in kisses while Keith tried to keep up.

“You’re a bunch of nerds,” Pidge said loudly.

“Yeah, but you love us,” said Keith.

“Yeah, yeah, unfortunately I do,” Pidge sighed, but she was grinning from ear to ear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr is [sing-a-rebel-song](https://sing-a-rebel-song.tumblr.com). I'm also Mod Keith on [everything-quiznaks-so-much](https://everything-quiznaks-so-much.tumblr.com).
> 
> Please leave me a comment; they bring me life!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang returns from spring break, and Lance and Keith celebrate an important milestone....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [Namo](http://eosphora.tumblr.com) and [Cass](http://citricsapphic.tumblr.com) for betareading this chapter (and to Cass for helping me stylize Hunk's texts).
> 
> This entire fic is gifted to [Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights) ([witchlightsands](http://witchlightsands.tumblr.com) on tumblr), but this chapter is especially dedicated to them...

_April 2nd_

**[[Alteans]]**

**Today** 4:36 PM

Hey guys!  
Hunk and I just got back to Garrison!  
Feel free to schedule us whenever!

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:**  
dude,,, ur Not Supposed To Say That

 **Princess Allura:**  
I'm not complaining.

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):**  
How was your break?

Pfffft, like Keith wasn't giving you a play by play

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):**  
Actually, he wasn't.  
Pidge was.  
Well, she was giving Matt a play by play.  
And I read over his shoulder a lot.

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:**  
break was awesome !!  
oh oops!!! that was supposed to send awhile ago  
my phone is Garbage rip

It's not that your phone is garbage  
It's that you use quiznaking AT&T

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:**  
quiznak u right

 **Long Lost Weasley:**  
Ayy welcome back Lance and Hunk!  
Quick question—how the Heck do you keep your cool when customers are being rude?  
I thought the swarms of people you have to deal with when your bf is a teen idol were bad…

Okay let's just get something straight

 **Long Lost Weasley:**  
Not me

Okay, fair enough.  
But I swear to all hell  
If you call your boyfriend a “teen idol” one more time  
I will dump water all over both of your heads.

 **Long Lost Weasley:**  
Sorry, I can't hear you, I'm too gay for my boyfriend, a TEEN IDOL

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:**  
if ur bf is a teen idol im the queen of england

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):**  
If your boyfriend is a teen idol, my prosthetic arm is made out of unicorn hair

 **Princess Allura:**  
If your boyfriend is a teen idol, I'm white.

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** FHSKDJFIIDH

 **Long Lost Weasley:**  
I came out to have a good time and call my boyfriend a teen idol and honestly I'm feeling so attacked right now.

You should

 **Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
But he's Instagram famous!!!  
People recognize him in the streets!  
That freshman you always hang out with? Rose?  
Legit one of his biggest fans

Trust me, we know that Rose is one of his biggest fans  
She’s almost as bad as you are  
But anyway, did you recognize him when you first met?

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** … this is biphobia and an attack on me as a person

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** ur forgetting that lance is The Bi-est Bi™

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** Nope still an attack.

BREAKING NEWS: LOCAL BI CALLS HIS BOYFRIEND A TEEN IDOL (HE’S NOT)

 **Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
Okay, so I didn’t recognize him when we first met  
But like  
I don’t even have Instagram!  
Well, I didn’t. Now I do.

Your Instagram doesn’t even count as an Instagram  
It’s a fan account for your boyfriend

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** Hmmm, maybe that’s because he’s a TEEN IDOL

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
lance ily but like,,,, ur instagram is No Different  
it’s mostly keef and u know it

Excuse you, my Instagram is full of my beautiful face  
And also lots of pictures of my sisters  
It is NOT just Keith  
And also I’m not going around calling Keith a “teen idol”

 **Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
What surprises me is that you’re NOT calling Keith a teen idol  
Last I checked he’s got a pretty sweet Instagram of him doing cool sword shit  
With a pretty decent number of followers  
Hmmm. Sounds familiar.

Oh please, do NOT put our boyfriends on the same tier

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
i mean,,, he has a point  
2 sword gays with a p large insta following  
each with a bi boyfriend who won’t shut up about them

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** “Sword gay” isn’t THE most accurate description but whatever

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** as i was saying, each with a bi boyfriend who won’t shut up about them

 **Princess Allura:** ****  
Oh for quiznak’s sake. Not this again.  
How many times have I told you boys:  
Stop using this thread as a place to talk about your romantic entanglements.  
This is for serious staff business.

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** I mean, we’re staff, and we’re in serious relationships, so…

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Boys.

Okay, okay, we’ll stop…

~~~~

_Two days later…_

**[[Pidgeon, Rose, Ray of Sunshine ☀️]]**

**Today** 11:19 AM

You guys  
You GUYS

 **Pidgeon:** ****  
Lance, I know you’re the queen of Drama Island, but you gotta stop doing that.  
And what’s this anyway? Why aren’t you texting the regular gc?

I just checked the schedule and  
Keith and my 2-month anniversary is on a Friday  
And I’m working that Friday night  
We won’t get to do anything special!!!

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** Um… haven’t you heard of, y’know, doing it the next day like a normal person?

Well gee whiz, Pidge, I would love to, except I’m working all weekend

 **Pidgeon:** ****  
Also, 2 month anniversary??  
How about wait until 3 months?  
Y’know, a quarter of a year?

 **Rose:** **  
** because hes lance and hes Extra

Also who said I wasn’t going to do something for 3 months?

 **Rose:** **  
** lance i love you but that is ridiculous

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** I second that.

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
ignore them lance!!! they’re just Buzzkills  
hmm,,, maybe there’s something u could do for keef while ur at work??  
maybe msg the staff gc about it???

Allura will kill me if I do that  
I’m p sure she nearly fired me and Micah two days ago

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
um,,,, About That ****  
i highly doubt she has any issue with micah and his “teen idol” bf anymore  
seeing as micah probably set her up with teen idol’s older sister

 **Rose:** ****  
…  
in the Undying Words of moana:  
“um, WHAT?!”

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:**  
YUP  
i saw like five (5) pics of allura and idk what her name is on ig last night

 **Rose:** ****  
SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS  
(screenshots)

 **Pidgeon:** ****  
I seriously hope you don’t actually intend on getting drunk, Rose.  
Oh. Screenshots.

“SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS” is how I’m asking for receipts for the rest of my life

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** *snorts*

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** BDJDJSKSKS

 **Rose:**  
its official folks  
i have started a trend  
the new and proper way to ask for receipts/screenshots in any drama is SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Rose:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Rose:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS

 **Pidgeon:** ****  
…  
…  
…  
SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Pidgeon:**  
Damn you, Rose.  
I don’t even follow this dude on Instagram.  
Or have any reason to care.

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
holy shit u guys ok  
ok  
ok im gettin the shots

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Rose:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
**here how about u just go to her insta  
https://www.instagram.com/alluringallura/

 **Rose:** ****  
AAAA THATS HER  
HOLY SHIT  
YEH WOW ID BE SHOCKED IF ALLURA HAS ANY PROBLEM WITH MICAH NOW

Alright then, maybe I can try asking the gc  
Hunk, my man, you are the best as always

 

**[[Alteans]]**

**Today** 11:46 AM

Hey guys? So um  
Keith and my 2 month anniversary is April 14  
Except I’m working that night and also that weekend  
Is there any way I can either do something for him at work?  
Or else take some time or something?

 **Princess Allura:** ****  
Lance, what did I say about using the group chat for boyfriend-related business?  
Oh, that’s right! I said not to do it!

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
hey not to Sidetrack but  
allura i saw those pics from your insta last night  
so cute??? u looked awesome in that dress??  
so blessed so moved cant believe this is my boss  
who was that girl with u by the way???

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** *snickers*

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** … Am I being blackmailed by my own staff?

I wouldn’t say “blackmailed”  
More like gently pointing out that you can’t complain about boyfriend-related business  
Seeing as said boyfriend-related business is how you ended up hanging out with a pretty girl

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** They do have a point, Allura…

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Shiro! You’re supposed to be on my side in all of this!

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
Unfortunately, seeing as Lance is dating my little cousin, I have to take his side.  
Family comes first.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Oh fine. What can we do for you, Lance?

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** *punches the air* YEA BOI BRING ON THE GAY SHIT

*snorts*  
Oh quiznak, I’m not even quite sure…  
I don’t really want to take time off...

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
I may have an idea for you...  
  


Oooooooohhh…  
He thinks I’m cute in my uniform, eh? Interesting.

 **Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
I mean, yeah, we are pretty cute in the uniform. I’ve been told the same.  
Y’know, by my boyfriend, a TEEN IDOL.

For quiznak’s sake Micah enough. Your boyfriend is not a teen idol.  
He’s a kid with a following on Instagram.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Oh, give it a rest, Lance.

What happened to that whole “If your boyfriend is a teen idol, I’m white” thing?  
I think you’re a little biased right there, Allura…

 **Princess Allura:** ****  
Okay, okay, fine. I want a shot with this girl, okay?  
And letting my star barista shit on her little brother? Probably unwise.

Poor Allura, you’re the gayest one among us. Talk about a conflict of interest.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Excuse me, Shiro gets the ultimate conflict of interest award.

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** I can’t even argue with that.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Why do I even still keep you?

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** Because I’m the only reason you sleep at night.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** I mean, you’re not wrong.

Okay, so he likes my uniform  
And I know he likes it when I sing because I’ve done it before.

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** holy quiznak i took one (1) trip to the Urination Station and come back to this

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** “Urination station” oh my gosh

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
i mean,,, he likes singing and he likes ur uniform,,  
i’m not saying serenade him but,

 **Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** S E R E N A D E  H I M

I honestly might that’s a good idea.  
What song though?  
I refuse to do it if it’s on Keith’s “favorite songs” playlist  
I’ve seen that shit and it is emo to an almost unrealistic degree

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
He might murder me if I tell you this, but…  
He has a major soft spot for early 2010s

What, like Justin Bieber early 2010s?

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
Oh god no not that.  
But other early 2010s stuff.  
Like, 2010-2013

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
he has a point right there,,, that was a Great Time for music  
early bruno mars and ed sheeran  
katy perry and kesha’s heyday  
fun and imagine dragons started being Things  
carly rae jepsen (fight me im lvoe her)  
maroon 5 had really gr8 shit  
lmfao (what happened to them???)  
NICKI FUCKIN MINAJ  
and then there were just like,,, a couple of random songs that were just total Jams  
there was that song tonight tonight, glad you came, drive by—OH OH OH IDEA!!

Yeah?

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
STEREO HEARTS  
STEREO. HEARTS.  
tell me you remember that song.  
gym class heroes + adam levine  
god tier song right there

HOLY CROW YES YES YES

 **Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
… Keith loves that song.  
He knows every single word.

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** That would be adorable if you sang it to him, Lance.

Boom. Done.  
So I can serenade him at work?

 **Princess Allura:** **  
** Yeah, alright. Have him come in while you’re working on 4/14, say there’s some sort of evening special. I can get you hooked up with a speaker and a karaoke track.

Sounds like a plan.

~~~~

_April 11th…_

**[[the squad™]]**

**Today** 3:17 PM

Hey guys! Allura told me that there’s gonna be a cool thing on Friday night  
We’re launching a new drink this coming week  
But rewards card holders get to have it for free on Friday night.  
Think coffee happy hour.

 **Mullet** ❤️ **:** **  
** What’s the new drink?

Oh, you’ll like this, babe  
It’s an iced version of our caramel macchiato, with a twist

 **Mullet** ❤️ **:** ****  
Caramel macchiato? Iced?  
Hmm. Sounds sweet like you, but cold like my soul. I’m liking it.

That’s a load of bull-quiznak.  
Your soul is not cold.

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** yeah keef ur a Soft Gay™

 **Mullet** ❤️ **:** **  
** These are lies.

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** I have screenshots that prove otherwise…

 **Rose:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS

 **Mullet ❤️:**  
????

¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 **Mullet ❤️:** **  
** Well, anyway, this special thing sounds great. I’ll be there!

 **Pidgeon:** **  
** Me too! Rose, you in?

 **Rose:** **  
** yeh! sounds fun!

~~~~

_April 14th…_

“For a special event, there isn’t a lot of signage,” Keith mused as he, Pidge, and Rose approached the Altea entrance. Pidge and Rose shrugged. “Okay, you’ve both been weirdly quiet today. What’s going on?” Pidge shrugged again. “Oh, whatever.”

They walked in, and again, Keith was surprised at how normal the entire thing was. There weren’t crowds of people, no signs about the new drink.

Something was up.

Well, whatever. “You go grab our seat,” said Keith. The girls nodded and walked off hand in hand, still with those _grins_ on their faces that said there was something going on.

“Hey,” Keith said as he approached the counter. Somehow, the feeling of walking up and seeing Lance there in his uniform would never grow old. “What’s this whole thing about an event, then?”

“Ah, yes, the event,” said Lance. “Well, about that—”

“—He was messing with you,” a voice called from somewhere Keith couldn’t quite see. He was pretty sure it was that new kid, the one whose boyfriend… something relating to Rose and Instagram or something.

Keith blinked a few times. “Wait, what?”

“Sorry,” said Lance. “I just had to make sure you came over.”

“I… I’m so confused,” said Keith.

Lance grinned. “Allow me to clarify.”

Suddenly, the lighting in the room changed. The usual music that was playing in the background stopped, and then changed.

Keith would know that opening chord anywhere. Without realizing it, he started grinning, and that’s when he realized that Lance was singing.

 _My heart's a stereo_  
_It beats for you, so listen close_  
_Hear my thoughts in every no-o-o-te_

Lance beamed at Keith as he kept singing, pushing open the little gate so he was on the other side of the counter.

 _Make me your radio_  
_And turn me up when you feel low_  
_This melody was meant for you_  
_Just sing along to my stereo_

There was that little seconds-long pause that Keith knew so, so well from hearing that song so, so many times, and then suddenly Lance was rapping as he started dancing around the room, moving so fast that Keith could barely keep up.

 _If I was just another dusty record on the shelf_  
_Would you blow me off and play me like everybody else?_  
_If I asked you to scratch my back, could you manage that?_  
_Like yikky-yeah, check it Travie, I can handle that_  
_Furthermore, I apologize for any skipping tracks_  
_It's just the last one that played me left a couple cracks_  
_I used to used to used to, now I'm over that_  
_'Cause holding grudges over love is ancient artifacts_

Keith could hear Lance, but had lost track of where he had gone—and then suddenly, Lance was behind him, singing and slowly making his way back around to face Keith again.

 _If I could only find a note to make you understand_  
_I'd sing it softly in your ear and grab you by the hand_  
_Just keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune_  
_And know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you_

Lance leaned over and kissed Keith’s forehead, barely giving Keith time to blush before launching both back into the chorus and himself across the room.

 _My heart's a stereo_  
_It beats for you, so listen close_  
_Hear my thoughts in every no-o-o-te_

Keith looked around the room and saw that clearly nobody was fazed. In fact, everyone seemed to be getting into it—and Rose and Pidge were filming, identical grins on their faces saying that they knew this was coming.

 _Make me your radio_  
_And turn me up when you feel low_  
_This melody was meant for you_  
_Just sing along to my stereo_  
_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh to my stereo_  
_Oh oh oh oh so sing along to my stereo_

 _“Let’s go!”_ Hunk, Allura, Shiro, and… shit, who was the redhead that worked at Altea now… all shouted, and then Lance started rapping the next verse.

 _If I was an old-school fifty pound boombox_  
_Would you hold me on your shoulder wherever you walk?_  
_Would you turn my volume up in front of the cops_  
_And crank it higher every time they told you to stop?_  
_And all I ask is that you don't get mad at me_  
_When you have to purchase mad D batteries_  
_Appreciate every mixtape your friends make_  
_You never know we come and go like on the interstate_

This time, there was no sneaking up. Lance faced Keith head on, gently extending his hands out as he walked closer.

_I think I finally found a note to make you understand  
If you can hit it, sing along and take me by the hand _

Keith knew what to do this time. He all but _skipped_ forward, grabbing Lance’s hands. He almost yelped as Lance suddenly spun them in a circle, and then actually yelped when Lance let go, almost sending him flying—but then Lance caught him in a damn _dip._

_Just keep me stuck inside your head, like your favorite tune  
You know my heart's a stereo that only plays for you _

Lance beamed, helping Keith stand again, and then he gave Keith two finger guns and a wink. Keith may have actually melted.

Now Lance was singing the chorus, and Keith had to figure out what to do next. Clearly this was all part of an elaborate plot that he had somehow missed, a plan for Lance to surprise him for their two month anniversary—and he had to reciprocate.

And then he had an idea. A ridiculous idea, but an idea…

Lance, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. Sure, the main goal was to surprise Keith, but hey, everyone in Altea seemed into it, so why not put on a bit of a show. Towards the end of the second chorus, he lost track of Keith a bit.

_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh to my stereo  
Oh oh oh oh so sing along to my stereo _

He noticed that everyone was staring behind him, so he turned and there Keith was, standing on a table, and Keith opened his mouth and started singing.

_I only pray you'll never leave me behind_

“Never leave me,” Lance echoed, trying to push back his absolute shock that Keith was singing. He shot a look back at Pidge and Rose, and then to the others behind the counter, and they were all as surprised as he was.

_Because good music can be so hard to find (so hard to find)_

Lance began walking over to the table, reaching up so he could take Keith’s hands. He was about to stand up on the table with him when he saw Allura mouth “don’t you dare.”

 _“Buzzkill,”_ he mouthed back, but he wasn’t about to get fired.

_I take your hand and hold it closer to mine (yeah)_

Keith kissed his hand, but then let go, walking over to the edge of the table…

_Thought love was dead, but now you're changing my mind!_

… and he jumped, landing perfectly on that beat before the final chorus. He looked over his shoulder at Lance, and they both knew what to do.

 _My heart's a stereo_  
_It beats for you, so listen close_  
_Hear my thoughts in every no-o-o-te_

 _I’m still gonna outdo you,_ Lance declared silently. He didn’t have perfect pitch for nothing. At the very end, he began harmonizing, partly imitating the original song and partly improvising. But hey, it worked.

 _Make me your radio_  
_And turn me up when you feel low_  
_This melody was meant for you_  
_Just sing along to my stereo_  
_Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh to my stereo_  
_Oh oh oh oh so sing along to my stereo._

There was a silence, and then Coran started clapping, and then slowly and all at once the entire café burst into cheers. Keith and Lance beamed at each other, fingers twining together, and then they were kissing and several people whooped.

“So, a good surprise?” Lance asked as they pulled away.

“I cannot _believe_ you pulled all of this off,” Keith laughed. “But yes. A very good surprise.”

“Well, here’s another surprise,” Allura said from behind them. “I’ll let you go early today.”

Lance blinked a few times. “Wait, seriously?!”

“It’s not like you would be productive anyway,” Allura pointed out.

“She has a point,” said Keith, wrapping his arms around Lance, nuzzling him almost like a cat. “And you work so hard, all the time. Take a break.”

“Oh, don’t even,” Lance groaned. “I swear, if you were about to say—”

“—Run away with me for the summer; let’s go upstate,” Keith sang, just slightly off-key.

 _“Keeeeeeiiiith,”_ Lance whined.

“Okay, that’s enough,” said Allura. “Lance, get changed and then go.”

~~~~

_Three hours later…_

“Okay, that was amazing,” said Keith.

They had gone to get pizza, and then went to go see the new Power Rangers movie. They curled up in the back of the theater, hand in hand, Lance’s head on Keith’s shoulder as Keith watched Billy Cranston’s every move with wide eyes.

“What was your favorite part?” Keith asked. Lance said nothing. “Lance?”

“I missed a bunch of calls from my mom,” said Lance. “I should call her back. Hang—oh—she’s calling again. Mama?” He put the phone to his ear. “Sorry, I’m so sorry, I was on a date with Keith. Is everything—Mama, are you crying? What happened?”

There was a silence, and then Lance paled. “No—no—Mama, you can’t be—no—” His eyes began filling with tears. “Oh—oh, okay—text me. Keep in touch. I’m on my way back to campus right now and I’ll tell Mr. Iverson I need to go home. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I promise.”

He hung up the phone, shaking, and turned to Keith.

“What happened?” Keith asked.

Lance’s voice was flat, calm, but Keith could tell he was about to break down. “Elena got hit by a car while walking home from soccer practice,” he said quietly. “She’s in the hospital now but Mama isn’t sure she’s gonna make it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I sorry? The world will never know.
> 
> find me on tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song or as mod keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much
> 
> pls leave a comment they make me happy! <3


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few announcements before we begin...
> 
> 1\. How about that third season, eh?! Pure beauty. Voltron writers, we accept your apology for season 2. Now please don't make season 4 suck...
> 
> 2\. I know that the release of the guidebook means that literally all of the ages and birthdays are wrong, but fun fact, I had no idea that the guidebook was gonna say those things. And at this point so much of the story has been told that it makes no sense to try and rework it to be canon-compliant. So.... deal.
> 
> 3\. Huge thanks to [Namo](http://eosphora.tumblr.com), [Cass](http://citricsapphic.tumblr.com), and [Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights) ([witchlightsands](http://witchlightsands.tumblr.com) on tumblr), for betareading this at various points. Love y'all!
> 
> 4\. yeah, yeah, okay, I did steal Rose's OC last chapter, and yeah yeah okay he may show up again, and yeah yeah okay I recognize that I'm absolutely pathetic. I'll just see myself to the shame corner. Shoutout to [Sam](http://multipledeadlybees.tumblr.com) for catching the inevitable.
> 
> 5\. And, most importantly, I know I broke all your hearts with the ending of last chapter. I hope that as the next few chapters unfold, you'll understand why I wrote it in.
> 
> Enjoy!

From the day they’d met up until right then, right that very second, Keith had never seen Lance go silent. Sure, he would be quiet, he would listen, but this was different. This was the kind of silence you hear about on the news when scientists discover the world’s quietest room and people go insane sitting inside it.

Keith liked quiet, generally, but this silence from Lance… it was terrifying. And they were still standing in the middle of the sidewalk, just outside the theater.

He pulled out his phone and requested a Lyft.

“I need to go home,” Lance whispered, staring at something in the distance. Then he whirled around, facing Keith dead on. “I need to go home.”

“I know,” said Keith. “Let’s get you back to campus like you said. You can talk to Iverson; we can get you home. C’mon.”

He tried to touch Lance’s shoulder, but Lance stepped away, hugging himself.

_He’s just upset. Don’t take it personally._

“It’ll be okay,” he said. He wasn’t sure what else to say.

“How do you know?” Lance asked, not turning around. “How do you know? Mama said she might not make it.”

“I—”

“—My sister might _die,_ Keith,” Lance said quietly. “My little sister might die. Leaving us behind. Leaving her twin behind. Leaving _me_ behind.”

A red Corolla pulled up to the curb. “That’s our ride,” Keith said quietly. “C’mon. Let’s get to campus and you can email Iverson.”

As soon as they were in the back seat, Lance buried his face into Keith’s shoulder, tightening his arms around Keith’s waist.

Keith hugged Lance back, stroking his hair. _It’s all I can do right now._

Well, that and text Hunk.

~~~~

“Lance, I know you’re worried, but you need to go to bed.”

It was three in the morning, and Lance was still staring at his laptop and his phone at the same time, waiting for an email from Iverson, a text from his mother, _anything._

“Just… just another hour,” Lance begged.

Hunk sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. “Buddy. Dude. You need to get some sleep.”

“Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me.” They turned to see that Keith was standing in the doorway. “Lance, why are you still awake?”

“Funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing,” Lance muttered.

Keith walked over to Lance’s side and rubbed his shoulder. “C’mon. Wanna stay in my room tonight?”

Lance looked over his shoulder and stared up at Keith. Keith gave him a soft, slightly tired smile.

“C’mon,” he said again. “You don't want me to tell your mama you're not sleeping, do you?”

“You’d do that?” Lance asked almost incredulously.

“Don't think I wouldn't,” Keith said firmly. He offered a hand to Lance.

“Keith…” Lance bit his lip, trying not to cry. “Keith, what if she dies?”

Keith cupped Lance’s cheek. “Lance, you can't do anything for her now. The best thing you can do for your family is to take care of yourself. That's what Elena would want, and what your mama would want, and your papa and your other sisters. You need to get some rest—if not for yourself, then for your family.”

He paused for a second, and then he bent down and planted a soft kiss on Lance’s forehead. “Come to bed.”

Lance sighed. He didn’t want to leave his phone and laptop, even for a second, but he did know that Keith was right. He needed to sleep—if only because being sleep deprived would do his family absolutely no good. So, reluctantly, he let Keith help him up and lead him across the hallway.

It was only when they entered Keith’s room that Lance remembered, he had never actually slept in Keith’s bed before. Keith had crawled into his bed a few times since that first time, and for reasons unknown, the Corderos allowed them to share over spring break, but Lance had never slept in Keith’s room in Carter.

The thought was both comforting and nerve-racking at the same time.

“Do you want to sleep closer to the wall or no?” Keith asked. “I’m fine with either.”

“Wall,” Lance replied. Keith nodded and gently nudged Lance towards the bed.

“Holy crow,” Lance said as he crawled in, laughing weakly. “Your sheets are amazing.”

“Shiro gave them to me,” said Keith. “My parents aren’t the best about my sensory issues, but Shiro’s great.”

“That’s nice,” said Lance.

“Yeah, it is.” Keith crawled into the bed beside Lance and opened his arms. “C’mere. You look like you could use a cuddle.”

_“I really, really could,”_ Lance whispered, tears almost forming. Keith pulled him close and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

Without really thinking about it, he began to recite.

_I hear the Shadowy Horses, their long manes a-shake,_  
_Their hoofs heavy with tumult, their eyes glimmering white;_  
_The North unfolds above them clinging, creeping night,_  
_The East her hidden joy before the morning break,_  
_The West weeps in pale dew and sighs passing away,_  
_The South is pouring down roses of crimson fire:_  
_O vanity of Sleep, Hope, Dream, endless Desire,_  
_The Horses of Disaster plunge in the heavy clay:_  
_Beloved, let your eyes half close, and your heart beat_  
_Over my heart, and your hair fall over my breast,_  
_Drowning love's lonely hour in deep twilight of rest,_  
_And hiding their tossing manes and their tumultuous feet._

“I like that,” Lance mumbled.

“It’s by Yeats,” said Keith. “The same guy who wrote the canoe poem.”

“Another?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded, thinking for a few moments before starting again.

_Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,_  
_Enwrought with golden and silver light,_  
_The blue and the dim and the dark cloths_  
_Of night and light and the half-light,_  
_I would spread the cloths under your feet:_  
_But I, being poor, have only my dreams;_  
_I have spread my dreams under your feet;_  
_Tread softly because you tread on my dreams._

Lance tilted his head to look up. “One more? Please?”

“Just one more,” said Keith, stroking Lance’s hair. “And then you need to sleep.”

_I cried when the moon was murmuring to the birds:_  
_“Let peewit call and curlew cry where they will,_  
_I long for your merry and tender and pitiful words,_  
_For the roads are unending, and there is no place to my mind.”_  
_The honey-pale moon lay low on the sleepy hill,_  
_And I fell asleep upon lonely Echtge of streams._  
_No boughs have withered because of the wintry wind;_  
_The boughs have withered because I have told them my dreams._

_I know of the leafy paths that the witches take_  
_Who come with their crowns of pearl and their spindles of wool,_  
_And their secret smile, out of the depths of the lake;_  
_I know where a dim moon drifts, where the Danaan kind_  
_Wind and unwind their dances when the light grows cool_  
_On the island lawns, their feet where the pale foam gleams._  
_No boughs have withered because of the wintry wind;_  
_The boughs have withered because I have told them my dreams._

_I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round_  
_Coupled with golden chains, and sing as they fly._  
_A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound_  
_Has made them so happy and hopeless, so deaf and so blind_  
_With wisdom, they wander till all the years have gone by;_  
_I know, and the curlew and peewit on Echtge of streams._  
_No boughs have withered because of the wintry wind;_  
_The boughs have withered because I have told them my dreams._

~~~~

Keith had always been an early riser, even when he stayed up late. For some reason his body just decided that when the sky was awake, he was awake, and so when the sun rose at six thirty the following morning, so did he.

For a few brief moments, he forgot what had happened the previous night, and so the fact that there was someone else in his bed was a surprise, but then he remembered.

And oh, Lance really was cute when he was sound asleep.

His face was just so _peaceful,_ so peaceful that Keith could almost forget the pain that Lance had suffered the previous night. Only the tear stains on Lance’s cheeks gave away that a mere few hours ago, he had been crying his eyes out.

“Fucking shit, I’m gay,” Keith muttered.

“Yeah, you are.”

Keith looked down to see that Lance’s eyes were open. “Hey,” he said softly. “What’re you doing awake?”

“Natural clock,” Lance replied groggily. “I have work.”

“Over my dead body you have work,” Keith said firmly. “I’ll text Shiro myself and tell him you’re not coming in.”

Lance gasped. “Shit. My phone. I gotta check to see if anything happened.”

“Alright,” said Keith. “Check your phone and your email, but you’re not going to work today. End of story. You need to rest and besides you’ll be stressed and miserable the entire shift.”

“You sound way too much like Shiro and Allura,” Lance muttered.

“Well, one of them is the most practical person I know,” said Keith, rolling out of bed, “and the other is my cousin. Go on then.”

Lance jumped out of the bed and ran across the hall back to his room, almost tripping over as he grabbed his phone.

**[[Mama]]**

**Today** 5:17 AM

Elena is in the ICU. Doctor says she’s doing much better.  
Should be able to make a full recovery.  
Don’t worry about coming home if you don’t want to.

**Today** 6:37 AM

Oh thank god she’s okay  
I’m absolutely coming home, just have to get the clear from school  
Give all of the girls and Papa hugs and kisses for me.

Will do. Besos.

Lance was about to put his phone down, when it buzzed again.

**[[Alteans]]**

**Today** 6:13 AM

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
hey everyone! lance got some Really Bad News last night  
won’t give more details unless he gives me the ok  
but he won’t be coming in today

**Today** 6:31 AM

**Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
Oh no, I hope everything is okay eventually  
I can come in and cover his shift today

**Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss)** ****  
No worries, Hunk. Tell him to get some rest.  
Micah, I would wait until Allura sees this.  
If she wants you to come in, that would be great.

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
will do!! lance you’ll see this soon  
you heard the man

Yeah, I heard the man  
Keith threatened to tell Shiro and Allura I wouldn’t be coming in like ten minutes ago  
Admittedly I’m glad you beat me to it…

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** no problem! what are Best Friends for?

**Princess Allura:** ****  
Sorry for not replying; I was finishing up opening.  
Micah, if you want to cover Lance’s shift, I would really appreciate it.

**Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
You got it, Allura  
Lemme just get my act together and I’ll be there ASAP  
Fair warning: I might get a visitor  
… come to think of it, so may you…

Alteans: turning crushes into regulars since 2016

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** i mean,,,, Ur Not Wrong

“Hunk told the others that I’m not coming in today,” Lance said as he re-entered Keith’s room, putting his phone on the table beside Keith’s bed. “And my mom told me that Elena is in the ICU and doing much better.”

“That’s great!” Keith said brightly.

“No word from Iverson, though,” said Lance.

“I’m not shocked. You emailed him on Friday night and it’s only Saturday morning.” Keith took Lance’s hands. “Don’t worry, babe. He’ll write back, and he’ll let you go home. Now come back to sleep; you’ve only slept like three hours.”

“Fine,” Lance whined. “Tell me another poem?”

Keith laughed. “You really like these poems, don’t you? Fine. But only one this time. I need to go back to my book and find some more.”

While Lance got himself back into bed, Keith thought about what poem he could recite. It took a little bit—he really did have to study his Yeats again—but eventually he decided on a good one. He crawled back into bed with Lance, pulled him close, and started again.

_The Powers whose name and shape no living creature knows_  
_Have pulled the Immortal Rose;_  
_And though the Seven Lights bowed in their dance and wept,_  
_The Polar Dragon slept,_  
_His heavy rings uncoiled from glimmering deep to deep:_  
_When will he wake from sleep?_

_Great Powers of falling wave and wind and windy fire,_  
_With your harmonious choir_  
_Encircle him I love and sing him into peace,_  
_That my old care may cease;_  
_Unfold your flaming wings and cover out of sight_  
_The nets of day and night._

_Dim powers of drowsy thought, let him no longer be_  
_Like the pale cup of the sea,_  
_When winds have gathered and sun and moon burned dim_  
_Above its cloudy rim;_  
_But let a gentle silence wrought with music flow_  
_Whither his footsteps go._

“There’s no way he actually wrote that with he/him pronouns,” Lance declared. “No way.”

“No, he didn’t,” said Keith. “But there is some evidence in his work that he may have been bi, so it’s not like I’m totally off base here.”

“Do I _really_ have to sleep now?” Lance whined. “You won’t tell me another one?”

“No,” Keith said firmly. “You need to sleep.”

Lance gazed up at Keith with wide, blinking eyes. “But I like it so much when you recite poems to me. You have such a pretty voice.”

“Oh, fine,” Keith muttered, reluctantly admitting his weakness for Lance’s pouts and praise. “Just one more. This one’s one of his most famous.”

_The trees are in their autumn beauty,_  
_The woodland paths are dry,_  
_Under the October twilight the water_  
_Mirrors a still sky;_  
_Upon the brimming water among the stones_  
_Are nine-and-fifty swans._

_The nineteenth autumn has come upon me_  
_Since I first made my count;_  
_I saw, before I had well finished,_  
_All suddenly mount_  
_And scatter wheeling in great broken rings_  
_Upon their clamorous wings._

_I have looked upon those brilliant creatures,_  
_And now my heart is sore._  
_All's changed since I, hearing at twilight,_  
_The first time on this shore,_  
_The bell-beat of their wings above my head,_  
_Trod with a lighter tread._

_Unwearied still, lover by lover,_  
_They paddle in the cold_  
_Companionable streams or climb the air;_  
_Their hearts have not grown old;_  
_Passion or conquest, wander where they will,_  
_Attend upon them still._

_But now they drift on the still water,_  
_Mysterious, beautiful;_  
_Among what rushes will they build,_  
_By what lake's edge or pool_  
_Delight men's eyes when I awake some day_  
_To find they have flown away?_

Keith sighed in relief as Lance drifted off again. He was a little surprised that just reciting poetry was enough to soothe Lance to sleep, but hey, it worked, and he wasn’t about to shit on something that worked.

And besides, perhaps the issue was that Lance was just really exhausted.

Suddenly Lance’s phone dinged. “Shit,” Keith muttered, hoping that Lance stayed asleep. He reached over and took a look at the phone. Just a text from Hunk to the rest of the Altean staff. No big deal.

He kissed the top of Lance’s head, hugging him gently. Perhaps he could get a little rest as well.

Everything would work out… eventually…

 

> **Gmail (just now)**
> 
> **Mitchell Iverson**
> 
> **Re: Going back home**
> 
> Come see me in my office. We have to talk about this in person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poems used in this chapter are as follows: ["He Bids His Beloved Be At Peace,"](http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/HeBidsHisBelov) ["He Wishes For The Cloths Of Heaven,"](http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/HeWishesFor) ["The Withering Of The Boughs,"](http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/TheWithering) ["The Poet Pleads With The Elemental Powers,"](http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/ThePoetPleads) and ["The Wild Swans At Coole,"](http://www.csun.edu/~hceng029/yeats/yeatspoems/TheWildSwans) all by W.B. Yeats.
> 
> find me on tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song or as mod keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much
> 
> please leave me comments; they make me happy! <3


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It’ll be alright,” Keith said gently, squeezing Lance’s hand as they stared at the looming door with the shiny golden plaque reading Office of Headmaster Mitchell J. Iverson...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to [Maple](https://mvp-phichit.tumblr.com/), [Cass](http://citricsapphic.tumblr.com) and [Rose](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights) ([witchlightsands](http://witchlightsands.tumblr.com) on tumblr) for betareading this at various points! Love y'all! <3

_2:58 PM_

“It’ll be alright,” Keith said gently, squeezing Lance’s hand as they stared at the looming door with the shiny golden plaque reading _Office of Headmaster Mitchell J. Iverson._ “Just explain what happened again and stay calm. And maybe don’t tell him that Elena is slated to make a full recovery.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Lance muttered.

“I’m gonna go to the library,” said Keith. “Pidge had a breakthrough with Rover and she wanted me to give her a hand. Text me when you're done, okay?”

“Will do,” said Lance. “Wish me luck.”

“I’ll do you one better,” Keith suggested, pulling Lance closer and lightly stroking his cheek. “How does a kiss for good luck sound?”

“Don’t need to ask me twice,” Lance replied. “I do need a lot of luck, though. Just warning you.”

Keith laughed and leaned in. “That won’t be a problem.”

It lasted about thirty, forty-five seconds, and then Lance was the one to pull away. “That’s probably not enough luck, but I do need to go.”

“You’ll be fine,” Keith reassured. “Go kick ass, babe.” He kissed Lance’s cheek one last time and began walking away.

Alone in the hallway, Lance stared at the door and the plaque. Keith had told him that this would be a no-brainer, that Iverson would let him go, but for some reason, he wasn’t so sure.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._

He reached out, took hold of the ornately carved gold door-knocker, and knocked three times. _Breathe in. Breathe out._

“Come in,” a voice called from the other side.

Trying to keep his hands from shaking, Lance turned the ridiculously fancy gold knob and pushed open the door. It took a good amount of effort—who _needed_ a door that thick and heavy?—but didn’t creak.

It was then that Lance realized he had never actually been in Mr. Iverson’s office. He hadn’t ever gotten in serious trouble at school, and the only meetings he had participated in were with lower-level school administrators. Despite his affirmations to the contrary, Mr. Iverson was not exactly an active participant in school affairs, especially when they involved student requests.

But because Lance was requesting an extended time off from school, he couldn’t go through those lower-level officials. He had to go straight to the top.

And holy quiznak, was the top an extravagant place.

It wasn’t an office so much as it was a living room with a desk—actually, scratch that; it was so pretentious that it counted as a _parlor_ with a desk. Immediately in front of Lance was a couch and multiple chairs and a coffee table, all wooden and ornately carved. Tall bookshelves and a fireplace lined the walls, and along the edges of the room sat trophies that the students had won but Iverson had kept. The ceiling had wallpaper on it, unless—had someone _painted_ those flowers up there?

And then there was the focal point of the room—the giant wooden desk with the stained-glass window behind it—and there was Mitchell J. Iverson, sitting in a swivel chair behind it.

Lance was admittedly a little shocked at the swivel chair; the rest of the room suggested that it should have been an actual, literal throne.

Iverson didn’t seem to notice him at first, despite having told him to come in. It took a few seconds before he registered Lance’s presence.

“G-good afternoon, sir,” Lance said when Iverson finally looked at him.

“Lance, yes?” Iverson had the look on his face that clearly stated _I know exactly who you are and why you’re here, and frankly I don’t care._

“Yes, sir. We emailed back and forth a bit—I just want to request some time off so I can go home; my sister got really badly injured…”

“Right…” Iverson looked Lance up and down, almost as though he were a piece of meat and not a student. “I understand that you’ve had a family emergency, but extended absences are not something we usually grant unless the student is somehow needed to resolve the issue, it involves a parent or guardian, or someone has died. It is also not an ideal time for you to go home, seeing as it is the last quarter. You would have to keep up with all of your work, including tests, and then take exams, or else you would have to repeat sophomore year.”

“Wait—repeat sophomore year?” Lance asked. “Can't I make up some of the work over the summer? I swear I've heard about someone doing that.”

“That is permitted when a student goes on medical leave,” Iverson explained. “Not for family emergencies like this one. There is no real need for you to go home, so it's unfair to the faculty to give you exams over the summer when you could have just been in school.”

Lance nearly stood up and started yelling, but he kept his cool. “With all due respect, sir, I think that my nine-year-old sister being severely injured is an adequate reason to go home. And you also mentioned the idea of a student being needed to resolve the issue—well, it’s arguable that I am needed at home given my family situation.”

Iverson looked at him with disdain. “Explain yourself?”

“I have four younger sisters,” Lance replied. _Breathe in. Breathe out._ “Elena got hit by a car. Selina is afraid that she might lose her twin sister. Luci is five years old and autistic. And right now, because my parents are dealing with the fact that their daughter got hit by a car, it’s on Alicia to take care of Selina and Luci. And Alicia is only thirteen. She can’t handle that kind of pressure, especially since she’s scared Elena might die as well. I’m the oldest, Mr. Iverson. It’s my job to look out for my little sisters, and right now, they need me.”

“That’s all very touching,” Iverson said, flatly, boredly, “but your parents shouldn’t be putting all of that on you, either. You’re not that much older than thirteen, and whatever benefit you can give to your sisters isn’t worth putting that kind of pressure on the faculty. I’m very sorry, but policy is policy. If you don't make up the work, on time, and pass, you will have to repeat a year.”

Lance had to hold back tears. “Sir, I can’t afford an extra year here. My family can barely pay for me being here for four years. They can’t pay for a fifth year, not with college in the future and Elena’s medical bills now.”

“Don’t you have a job?” Iverson asked. “If I remember correctly, you made quite a fuss in order to get a work permit. Is that not enough for you?”

“Not with the fact that I can only work weekends,” Lance replied.

“Well, there’s nothing I can do for you,” said Iverson. “If you can’t afford to pay for the excellent education you’re receiving here, and you’re not doing well enough to get a better scholarship, perhaps you shouldn’t be here at all. But at the very least, you can be less of a nuisance and finish out the year properly. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have other things to do.”

Lance opened his mouth, trying to say something, but no words came forth.

“Goodbye,” Iverson said firmly. “Close the door on your way out.”

“Yes, sir,” Lance said, still trying not to cry. He stood up shakily, opened the door, and left, closing the door as asked.

And then he took off down the hallway, sobbing as he reached the door to exit the building. He could see rain outside the window.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe—fuck that, fuck that, fuck this, fuck everything—_

He ran out the door and kept running, not entirely sure where he was going. The rain was coming faster and heavier now but Lance barely wished he had worn a raincoat or brought an umbrella. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Not when Elena was hurt and he couldn’t go home to see her or take care of the other girls.

_I’m a failure as a brother. I’m a failure as a son. I’m a failure as a human being._

He reached a bench overlooking… he wasn’t entirely sure what it was overlooking… and sat on it, hugging himself, shaking.

_I’m so, so, so sorry…_

~~~~

**[[Lance ❤️]]**

**Today** 3:29 PM

Hey, are you okay?  
I can’t imagine you’re still talking with Iverson…   
Text me when you get this, okay?

**Today** 3:41 PM

Lance?  
Lance, are you alright?   
Please text me or call me. I’m getting really worried.

**Today** 4:19 PM

Lance I’m really getting worried.  
Please just respond.   
It’s pouring rain out and visibility is low.   
Please just text me. Please.

 

**[[the squad™]]**

**Today** 4:37 PM

Have any of you heard from Lance?

**Pidge:** **  
** I thought he was meeting with Iverson.

Yeah, an hour and a half ago.  
He said he was going to text me when he got out.

**Hunk:** **  
** and he hasn’t??? that doesn’t sound like him

I agree—that’s why I’m asking you guys.

**Pidge:** **  
** No, I haven’t heard from him.

**Hunk:** **  
** me neither!!!!

Shit. It’s pouring and visibility is low.  
I’m really getting worried.

**Rose:** **  
** idk where he is sry

Okay, I know it’s pouring out, but is anyone willing to help me go out and look?  
I’m worried he’ll get a cold or something out there.

**Hunk:** **  
** im so sorry!!! im working late 2nite

**Rose:** ****  
yeh i can help  
im over in the art center, i can look on that side of campus?

**Pidge:** **  
** I’m in. I’m at the library.

**Rose:**   
like i can look there and move out from there to the athletic center   
and then to the edge of campus   
by the maintenance barn and shit   
hang on lemme text shay, maybe she can help look

**Pidge:** ****  
I can look through the main building  
The entire connected unit.   
And also the quad.   
Basically the main building and then out to the border of what Rose is covering.

I’m at Carter. I can look in that corner of campus?  
Like from there west and back to the tennis courts?

**Rose:** **  
** shay says she can cover the soccer fields

That’s everything. Let’s move.  
If you find him, text right away.

Keith turned the ringer on his phone as high as it would go, shoved in his pocket, grabbed his raincoat, and ran out the door.

_Hold on, babe. We’re gonna find you. Everything’s gonna be okay._

Part of him didn’t really care who found Lance, as long as someone did, and fast. But another part of him wanted to be the one who saw his boyfriend first, to call out his name and run to him and pull him close and know that he was okay.

_Find him first. Then you can do all of that._

_Think. Where in your section could Lance be?_

He knew the campus backwards and forwards, in part because of all of the planning for Rover. Luckily, there weren’t any buildings he had to search, seeing as the only ones in his section were residential buildings that each had their own entry code, and all of the rooms inside Carter also had individual locks. The only places Lance could be, at least in Keith’s section, were out in the open.

Keith decided to be systematic, to start by going west and then working his way around in a circle, as opposed to running up and down in terror. What with how hard it was to see in the pouring rain, if he didn’t have a system, he would get lost.

So to the west he went, trying as hard as he could not to just start screaming Lance’s name as he looked and looked and looked, all to no avail.

_Stay calm. He might be in someone else’s section._

But as he reached the end of his circle, even as he _knew_ that Lance might be elsewhere, he still couldn’t help but think that he had failed.

And then he reached the lawn right in front of the _we’re definitely a secular school but we still have this thing_ chapel, and there was a bench in front of the white building, and there was a figure huddled on the bench, shivering, and even though Keith couldn’t see the figure’s face, he _knew._

“Lance!” he shouted, and he started running towards the bench. _“Lance!”_

Lance didn’t respond at first, but then tilted his head up. “Keith?” he asked weakly.

_“Lance,”_ Keith almost cried in relief, making his way to the bench. “Lance, what the hell are you doing? How long have you been out here?”

“I-I don’t know,” Lance said quietly.

“You said you’d text me,” said Keith. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry.”

Keith sighed. “It’s fine. Lemme just tell the others I’ve found you. I sent out a search party.”

Lance pulled out his phone at the same time that Keith did. “Holy shit, you did.”

“Yeah, lemme tell ‘em I found you.”

**[[the squad™]]**

**Today** 4:42 PM

**Mullet ❤️:** **  
** Found him. We’re heading back to Carter now.

**Pidgeon:** **  
** Oh thank god.

**Rose:** ****  
GOOD  
ill text shay and tell her were good

“C’mon,” said Keith. “Let’s get you inside.”

“Keith, he said no.”

Keith blinked a few times. “What?”

“Iverson said no. He said I can’t go home.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Do you think I’d sit out in the rain crying for over an hour if I were?” Lance asked.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” Keith helped Lance up and kissed his forehead. “Tell me everything.”

By the time they reached Carter and Keith punched in the entry code, he was seething. “How fucking dare he,” he growled. “Lance, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. We’ll fix this.”

“How?” Lance asked weakly.

“Well, you’re getting warm and dry first,” said Keith. “Go to your room and get changed, alright? And then come back into my room, and we can figure out what we’ll do next.”

“Squad night?” Lance asked.

“If you want,” said Keith. “Lemme tell the others.”

**[[the squad™]]**

**Today** 5:01 PM

Lance just asked for emergency squad night. Who’s in?  
Hunk, I know you can’t make it…

**Pidge:** **  
** Sure!

**Hunk:** ****  
actually!!!! i can!!!!!  
one of the weekday staffers just showed up out of the blue!!!   
apparently allura asked him to take the last half of my shift????

**Pidge:** **  
** I may or may not have asked Shiro to ask Allura to find a way to let you off the hook…

**Rose:** **  
** and i may or may not have asked micah to ask allura to do the same thing…

**Hunk:** ****  
you girls are the Best ily  
im on my way back 2 garrison now   
wait do you want me to grab food first?

**Lance ❤️:** **  
** Can we have pizza?

**Hunk:** **  
** ofc!!! i’ll pick it up on my way back!

**Lance ❤️:** **  
** Thanks guys

“Go change,” said Keith. “Get on some nice fluffy pajamas, and we’ll have a nice night and figure out how to get you home.”

Lance nodded. “You should change too,” he said. “You’re soaking wet also.”

“Fair enough. Oh, and Lance?”

“Yeah?”

Keith planted a kiss on Lance’s forehead. “I love you. So much.”

For the first time since… since singing together in Altea… Lance smiled. “I love you too.”

_We will fix this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song, as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much, and now as Mod Allura on @queenshippingofficial, otherwise known as even more official confirmation that yours truly has done a backflip into the garbage bin.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang steps in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long, y'all!
> 
> Same gang as usual betaread; I'm too lazy to put in their names. Just like, reread earlier ANs.

The minute Pidge and Rose entered Keith’s room, they rushed forward to give Lance a hug.

“Oh, hey guys,” Lance said weakly, hugging them back.

“I’m so sorry about Iverson,” said Rose. “He’s a shitface.”

“It’s alright,” said Lance.

“It’s not,” said Keith. “I promise we’ll find a way to change his mind, though. You’re going to go home and see your family.”

Pidge nodded eagerly. There was something glinting in her eyes, a spark of some kind, but Lance couldn’t quite tell what.

“You guys, don’t put yourselves out of your way to—” Lance cut himself off when Keith placed a hand on top of his. “You don’t—”

“—We  _ want  _ to,” said Keith. “Lance, you’re our friend—and my boyfriend—and we love you. Of course we want to make sure you get home and see your family.”

“You’re all too good to me,” Lance sighed. Keith kissed his temple. “That was gay.”

Keith grinned. “Oh, absolutely.”

Suddenly, Keith’s door burst open to reveal Hunk. “I heard my favorite word.”

“Pizza!” Lance exclaimed.

“No,” said Hunk. “Pizza’s my seventh favorite word. Gay is my first favorite word.”

“Big mood right there,” said Rose. “Now let’s eat and watch movies and pretend like we’re not living in the most classist hellhole ever to exist for a little while.”

~~~~

Halfway through the movie, Lance fell asleep, snuggled in Keith’s arms.

“Poor thing,” Hunk gently cooed when he noticed. “He must be drained from all of this.”

“No kidding,” said Rose. “And let's be real, my beanbag is super comfortable.”

“Well, I’m glad he's asleep,” said Pidge. “I don't want him to hear what I have to say.”

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, absentmindedly running his fingers through Lance’s hair. Lance hummed in his sleep and nuzzled closer.

Pidge straightened her glasses and looked around the room. “I have a plan,” she said. “I know how we can get Iverson to change his mind.”

Keith’s eyes lit up. “What is it?”

“You're gonna have to bear with me here,” said Pidge. “It involves a little bit of backstory.”

“Let's hear it,” said Rose.

Pidge nodded. “I think Keith might know this, and maybe Rose, but I'm not sure: Before I was born, my parents were teachers at Garrison. My mom taught math and my dad taught science. And they were there for a really long time. By the time my brother was born, they had already been there like five years. They were well known, respected, and a lot of students loved them. And like most of the faculty, they lived on campus and were active in student life. But then, just before I was born, they left campus for a pretty shitty reason.”

“What's that?” Keith asked.

“Something happened to my brother,” said Pidge. “A Garrison student got him alone… I don't want to share all the details, but it was physical. Matt was about seven or eight years old.”

“Holy shit,” said Keith. “I'm so sorry.”

“My parents tried to bring it to the administration, but they were completely ignored, and they started getting anonymously harassed. It got so bad that they resigned and left campus. My mom was already pregnant with me, and she didn't want me to grow up somewhere where I wouldn't be safe.”

“No kidding,” Rose interjected. “Sorry; go ahead.”

“It's fine. But anyway, Matt told me about the incident when I got bullied in sixth grade, y’know, to help me feel like I wasn't alone. But after that, I was determined to go to Garrison for high school to figure out what happened. I needed to know why the administration didn't protect my family. So I came here, and what I discovered was that Iverson knew what had happened to my brother and who did it, but the student’s family bribed him to keep it quiet and then cover the incident up after my family left. They even bribed him into not investigating the harassment.”

“They bribed Iverson?” Hunk asked incredulously.

“Y’know the older laptops? The ones students check out in the library and use for tests?” Pidge asked. “All of those were provided by that family. Same goes for most of the smartboards, and about half of the textbooks the school currently uses. And, if that weren't sleazy and slimy enough, just after my family left, this family put on an extravagant staff appreciation party.”

“That's disgusting,” said Rose. “But wait, do you have proof?”

Pidge grinned. “Tons of it. I have the receipts for everything. Email exchanges, financial reports, all that good stuff.”

“How did you get it?” Rose asked.

“Oh, I've had control of the school’s mainframe for a while now,” said Pidge. “I took it over towards the beginning of the year and have been hunting through it for receipts ever since.” Keith snorted. “What?”

“Sorry. Not funny. I just… you were so casual about the fact that you have control of the school’s mainframe.”

Pidge blinked a few times. “Dude… how do you think I managed to jailbreak that iPad?”

“I… I never thought of that,” Keith admitted.

“Well, now you know,” said Pidge. “Here's my plan. We get Lance to go to work tomorrow. While he and Hunk are at work, Keith, you go to Iverson to plead Lance’s case. And then during that meeting, I’ll pop in and tell Iverson what I know.”

Rose and Hunk were hesitant, but Keith beamed. “Sounds reckless, risky, and full of shit. I'm in.”

“Hunk, Rose? You don't technically have to do anything. Except Hunk needs to convince Lance to go to work. But that's it.”

“I think I'm okay with it,” said Hunk. “This isn't about me, anyway. It's about Lance and his family, and you and yours.”

“Well, let's do it,” said Pidge.

“Pidge, wait,” Rose interrupted. “Have you thought this through? Really truly?”

“What do you mean?” Pidge asked.

“Pidge, everything you're doing is against school rules. If you do this, you're literally admitting to hacking the school’s computer system, and committing blackmail. And yeah, maybe he’ll let Lance go home to save himself, but he also could expel you from school, and then what?”

“Then he kicks himself in the ass further,” said Pidge. “I leak the papers and make the story viral. He tries to sue for defamation or damages or whatever. The court rules in my favor because there's no way he can possibly prove I made up what I was saying. And now he has to pay out my family, and more importantly, the school has a massive administrative overturn. Not to mention, as soon as I tell the court that he expelled me, he’d have to let me come back. He’d be better off if he just complied.”

“That's a real risk,” said Rose. “Now you're banking on the story having the impact you want it to  _ and  _ for the court to rule in your favor. Pidge, if even one part of this goes wrong, you could lose everything. And Lance might not even be able to go home.”

“This isn't just about Lance,” said Pidge. “Rose, I have been planning this since I was eleven. I had every intention of doing this from the day I walked on campus. This whole thing with Lance just gave me an opportunity to do it.”

“So, lemme get this straight. You're willing to risk everything you've done this year, just to get back at Iverson over something that happened before you were born? Have you even asked your brother if he wants you to do this?”

Pidge bit her lip. “He’d tell me not to,” she admitted quietly.

“Yeah, he would! Because this is  _ stupid,  _ Pidge! You’re doing something absolutely ludicrous just to get revenge—”

“—It's justice,” Pidge corrected. “My older brother is traumatized because of what happened to him. All I'm doing is making sure justice is served. What's your problem with that?”

“You could get expelled,” said Rose. “And then what happens to us?”

“We can stay together,” Pidge said casually. “It's not like I live that far from Garrison. Long distance relationships are a thing.”

“And what if it doesn't work out?”

“That's a risk I’m willing to take. Rose, I love you, but I came to Garrison for one reason and one reason only: to get justice for my brother. That's it. I didn't come to Garrison to get a girlfriend.”

“Glad I mean so much to you,” Rose muttered, and with that, she stood up and left the room.

“Wait!” Pidge tried to go after Rose, but Hunk stopped her.

“Let her go,” said Hunk. “She needs space.”

“Am I so in the wrong here?” Pidge asked.

“It's not about right and wrong,” said Hunk. “You've both got valid opinions, and I think you both need to think about this situation.”

Pidge sighed and sat back down. “I love her so much,” she said.

“Trust me, we know,” said Keith, but instead of his usual eye-roll, he was giving her a soft smile.

~~~~

“Shay, it's Rose,” Rose called as she knocked on the door. “You in there?”

“Yeah, and Nyma’s with me. You can come in if you want.” Rose pushed open the door and immediately flopped onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow

“What happened?” Shay asked. “Thought you were having squad night.”

“We were,” said Rose, her voice muffled by the pillow. “Pidge and I had a fight.”

“About time,” said Nyma.

Rose sat up. “What?”

“I said, about time.” Nyma fixed one of her pigtails and looked right at Rose. “Rose, hon, listen to me. If you're in any kind of close relationship and never fight, you're doing it wrong, because that means you're hiding something from the other person.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked.

“An argument is a difference of opinions,” said Nyma. “Sometimes a small difference, sometimes a big one. Yeah?” Rose nodded. “And no two people on this planet have the exact same opinions on absolutely everything. So if you’re not arguing with the person you care about, ever, there's something about you or about them that's not out in the open.”

Rose nodded, slowly. “Is it bad that I’ve never thought about it that way?”

“Kid, you’re what, fourteen? Fifteen?”

“Fifteen,” said Rose.

“Then of course not. You’re a kid. You’re learning. And if Pidge loves you as much as I think she does, you’ll both work this out.”

“You will,” said Shay. “It’ll all work out.”

“She wants to do something really stupid,” said Pidge. “Stupid enough to get her kicked out of school. And she doesn’t seem to care about the fact that our relationship might not work out long distance.”

“What does she want to do?” Shay asked. “If it’s not my business, that’s fine.”

“I probably shouldn’t share much,” said Rose. “But it has to do with something that happened to her brother before she was born.”

“I can’t say I know Pidge  _ too  _ too well, but I do know how close she is with her brother,” Shay mused. “Her family means a lot to her.”

“I guess I’m not really used to that,” said Rose. “My family kinda sucks. For me, my friends  _ are  _ my family.”

“That may be why it’s hitting you so hard,” said Shay. “But you have to understand that for Pidge, it’s different.”

“Yeah,” said Rose. “I suppose it is. Am I like, being irrational or unfair or something?”

“Nah,” said Nyma. “You're coming at it from a different perspective than she is, and that's perfectly normal. What matters is that you find a way to work it out that makes both of you at least mostly happy.”

“I stormed out of the room,” said Rose. “Wasn’t exactly nice when I did, either.”

“Yeah, that may not have been your finest moment,” said Shay. “And honestly, I have no idea how Pidge reacted to that. Maybe it really hit her hard, but it’s also possible that she doesn’t see it as a big deal. I would say, apologize when you talk to her, listen to her if she says that it really hurt her, and then try and move on.”

“Why are you helping me out?” Rose asked.

Shay smiled. “Because you're our gay little sister.”

Rose laughed. “I like that. Can we watch a show now?”

~~~~

_ One hour later… _

“Okay, that was a good choice,” said Rose. “Thanks for making me watch it, Shay.”

Shay grinned. “No problem!”

Just then, Rose’s phone buzzed.

**[[bird nerd]]**

Hi Rose.   
I know you're mad at me, but I don't know why.   
And I don't want to make assumptions because that's rude.   
But I also really don't want things to be bad between us cuz, well, you're my girlfriend.   
Unless you want to break up with me.   
I really hope you don't want to do that.I mean I wouldn't necessarily blame you because I was… okay, Hunk is next to me and he says we need to talk about it in person.   
He's probably right.   
I know you’re upset with me, but things won't get better unless we talk things out.   
So I was wondering if maybe you’d take a walk with me before curfew?   
It's okay if you need more space but I feel like we should do this soonish?   
Just so there isn't tension building between us for too long?   
Um yeah so if you wanna talk just let me know.

“Pidge texted me,” said Rose. “She wants to talk about what happened.”

“Are you ready to talk to her about it?” Shay asked. “Because if so, you should say yes.”

Rose stared at her phone, rereading Pidge’s texts over and over. “I think so.”

**[[bird nerd]]**

yeh sure   
meet you outside of carter?

I’ll be there.

“Did she say yes?”

Pidge nodded. “I’m really nervous.”

“Don’t worry,” said Hunk, lightly ruffling her hair. “It’ll all work out. Trust me. I’m your gay older brother.”

Five minutes later, she was standing outside of Carter, leaning against the front door. She had gone out the back door and around, in case Rose didn’t want to pass her in the hallway on her way out. For some reason she thought that would be a good idea.

A few moments later, Rose emerged, and for a split second Pidge’s heart stopped. In the hour or so they had been apart and upset with each other, she had somehow forgotten how  _ pretty  _ her girlfriend was. It wasn’t often that she saw Rose’s hair up in a ponytail; she usually had it down, but this time it was up, and Pidge wasn’t sure which she wanted to do more, take it out of its ponytail and use it as a naturally occurring stim toy, or take advantage of the fact that she didn’t have to deal with pesky hair when she wanted to kiss Rose’s cheek.

Oh, wait, they had to talk about what had happened first.

Poo.

“Hey,” she said, waving.

Rose waved back, tentatively, but she didn't smile.

_ I really, really screwed up. _

“Wanna go to the river?” Pidge asked.

“Sure,” said Rose.

“Let's go, then. Don't wanna be like Amberlyn and miss curfew.”

Rose snorted. “Fair enough.”

_ Oh good. I made her laugh. _

They walked side by side, close but not touching, completely silent. Pidge wanted to pretend like this was normal, like this was just a regular nighttime walk that regular girlfriends took, but she knew that this definitely wasn't that.

For reasons unknown, the Garrison docks were incredibly long, extending several feet into the river, almost as though they were overlooking a lake. When they reached the river, Rose immediately went down to the dock, walked all the way to the end, and took her shoes off. “What are you doing?” Pidge asked.

“Dipping my toes in,” Rose explained, sitting down and putting her feet in the water. “Come join me.”

Pidge walked over to the dock and copied Rose, sitting next to her as she put her feet in. “Ooooh, it's nice.”

“It's a great stim, isn't it?” Rose grinned.

“It really is,” Pidge replied.

There were a few more seconds of quiet, and then Rose spoke. “Okay, before we do anything else, I'm sorry for storming out of the room. That probably wasn't that helpful.”

“It's okay,” said Pidge. “You needed space.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“I'm sorry for the way I said things,” said Pidge. “A lot of what I said came out wrong and wasn't really nice.”

“What did you mean to say?” Rose asked.

Pidge thought for a few moments. “I guess… I'm really driven. When I want something, when I come into a situation with a goal, I'm not gonna quit until I've gotten it. And then when it has to do with my family, there's nothing that's gonna stop me. Ever.”

“Yeah, about that,” said Rose. “I was talking to Shay and Nyma about it and I realized… I have no idea what it feels like to love your family. Mine is objectively terrible. I wouldn't go out of my way to protect any of them.” She paused. “I suppose I might be a little jealous. Especially since Lance and Hunk also are so close with their families.”

“I can understand that,” said Pidge. “If it makes you feel better, Keith is in a pretty similar boat to you. He really only has Shiro.”

“Yeah, but at least Shiro is supportive. My family isn’t.”

“Fair enough.”

There were a few more moments of silence, and then Pidge spoke again. “Rose, I really am sorry,” she said. “I was really unfair to you and didn't pay attention to your feelings at all.” Rose opened her mouth to speak, but Pidge shook her head. “Please hear me out. I told you that I didn't come to Garrison to get a girlfriend and that confronting Iverson has been my goal for years. And that's all true. But that doesn't mean that our relationship isn't important to me, because it is. It means a ton to me. And times change and people change. And if it hurts you that badly and puts our relationship at risk, so can goals.” She turned to Rose. “We’ll find another way to get Lance home.”

“Wait,” said Rose. “Hold on. Now you hear me out. It was hard for me to understand why you wanted to confront Iverson when I was thinking about it… on a small scale, I guess? But now that I've thought about it, I can see the big picture.”

“Yeah?” Pidge asked.

“Yeah,” said Rose. “Because this isn't about Lance and his family, or about you and yours. Not in the long run. It's about the fact that Mitchell Iverson is a classist asshole who cares more about money than the students, and if you don't confront him, nobody will.”

“Rose, I could get expelled…”

“I know. I told you that. And don't get me wrong, I’m terrified of losing you.”

“Rose—”

Rose took Pidge’s hands in her own and squeezed them gently. “But that's me. I'm not as brave as you. You're brave; you're gutsy. And it makes me so proud of you.” She planted a kiss on Pidge’s forehead. “I love you so much.”

Pidge’s eyes widened, almost filling with tears.  _ “I love you too,”  _ she said, and she flung her arms around Rose’s neck. Rose shrieked in surprise and tumbled backwards, taking Pidge with her… and then they fell sideways into the water.

“Of fucking course the docks are so long that they extend into the deep part of the river,” Rose muttered as she came up from under and regained her footing. “Pidge?” She looked around wildly. “Pidge, where did you go?”

A few seconds later, Pidge popped up. “Had to find my glasses,” she explained, putting them on her face. “Oh, fuck everything.”

“What? What’s wrong?”

“I’m so short that this water is too deep for me.”

Rose snorted. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah, yeah, so funny,” Pidge muttered, treading water.

Rose walked over and gently wrapped her arms around Pidge. “I’ve got you,” she said. “C’mon, let’s get back inside.”

They pushed themselves back up onto the dock, grabbed their shoes, and began walking back to Carter barefoot. “So, we’re good?” Pidge asked.

Rose smiled. “We’re definitely good.”

~~~~

“Dude, what happened?” Keith asked as Pidge and Rose walked in. “Why are you soaking wet?”

“We fell into the river,” Pidge explained.

Hunk blinked a few times. “I don’t want to know,” he said. “Go get changed; it’s almost curfew.”

“Alright,” said Pidge. “Rose, whaddya say? Should I ‘accidentally’ put all of these wet clothes on Amberlyn’s bed?”

Rose smirked. “I knew there’s a reason I fell in love with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me @sing-a-rebel-song and as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All systems go...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so apparently now there's Disk Horse™ around Matt's age as well. I personally don't understand how his being a teenager makes any sense seeing as sending a teenager to Kerberos seems like a fundamentally stupid idea. But then again, the Voltron writers make no sense anyway.
> 
> That being said, I'm not changing anything about this fic. I'm fifteen chapters in, people, and I established Matt's age back in chapter 1. So, for the purposes of this fic, Matt is still around 23 and he's still in a relationship with Shiro. Fight me.

_ The next day… _

All systems were a go. The meeting with Iverson was scheduled. The Corderos had been informed that Keith was going to make another attempt at convincing Iverson—and had even asked that Keith go with Lance if possible. Pidge was ready with a monologue and a carefully crafted proposition for Iverson to take or leave.

Now all Keith had to do was convince Lance to go to work, as subtly as possible…

“Why are you being so pushy?” Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

_ Shit,  _ Keith thought to himself.  _ So much for being subtle. Now, how to get out of this… _

“I wasn't trying to be pushy,” he said. “I'm really sorry if I was sounding that way. I just really think that going to work will do you good. I know that when I have to sit around with my own thoughts, it really isn't good. Besides, I know you. You're gonna hate yourself in a few days for not having made any money this weekend.”

“I can't argue with that,” Lance sighed. “You'll come and visit me?”

Keith leaned over and kissed Lance’s nose. “Of course I will.”

Lance blushed. “Okay, okay, fine. Lemme text the others.”

 

**[[Alteans]]**

**Today** 7:36 AM

Hey everyone   
Keith is telling me that I should come to work   
Get my mind off of recent events   
Allura, can you schedule me a shift?

**Princess Allura:** **  
** Come in for as long as you like, Lance. I’ll pay you.

Seriously?!   
Dang, y’all have really missed me.

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
ofc we have!!!!   
how could we not miss The Best Barista (tm)

**Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
^^^ yeah man, I’m trying to make coffee but it’s not as good as yours   
Like not even close   
Your regulars are getting annoyed with me.

**Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** We’d be happy to have you back, Lance.

Alright, I’m on my way. There in 15ish

**Ray Of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
YEA BOI   
see you then lance!!!!!!

 

“Alright, I gotta get changed,” said Lance. “I’m holding you to that promise, though. I haven’t made you coffee in too long.”

“And I can’t wait to have your coffee,” said Keith. “Hey, guess what?”

“What?”

Keith pulled Lance closer and pressed his lips lightly against Lance’s neck. “I love you,” he whispered.

“That tickles,” Lance whined.

Keith pulled away and grinned. “I know.”

~~~~

“Come in.”

Keith pushed open the ridiculously ornate door and stepped inside Iverson’s office.  _ Deep breaths. You’re doing this for Lance. _

“Good morning, Mr. Iverson,” he said. “Thank you for being willing to meet with me.”

“What do you need?” Iverson asked offhandedly.

“I’m here to talk about Lance McClain,” said Keith. “More specifically, the fact that his sister got hit by a car and yet he can’t go home and see her and his parents and other sisters.”

Iverson gave Keith a look that briefly sent him hurtling back to his days of foster care. “This conversation has been had and finished,” he said. “I told Lance no because his leaving would put unnecessary strain on our faculty.”

“With all due respect, sir, I’m sure the faculty would understand that one of their students had a family emergency—his sister was hit by a  _ car;  _ I can’t imagine the faculty—”

“—The answer is no,” said Iverson.

“I’d rethink that, if I were you.”

Iverson whirled around. “Who said that?”

The computer behind him suddenly displayed a video of Pidge in her dorm room. “Hey there,” she said brightly. “Kathryn Rey Holt, at your… well, not at your service. Don’t try to shut me off; it won’t work.”

Iverson rushed over to his computer and tried to type in commands. “I told you, don’t try to shut me off,” said Pidge. “I’ve had control of this school’s mainframe for months; there’s nothing you can do to stop me. Now sit down and listen to what I have to say.”

“You heard the woman,” said Keith. “Have a seat.”

“Tell me, Mr. Iverson,” Pidge said when Iverson sat down. “Do you recognize these two people?” A picture of Pidge’s parents appeared on the screen.

“No,” Iverson said quickly.

“Those are my parents, Samuel and Colleen Holt,” said Pidge. “And I’m a little shocked that you don’t remember them, seeing as they were two of the most beloved teachers in recent Garrison history.”

“Yes, right, the Holts,” said Iverson. “Yes, they were… they were excellent members of the community and—”

“—And they left,” said Pidge. “They left just before I was born. Tell me, Mr. Iverson, do you remember why they left Garrison when they loved it so much and they were so loved in turn?”

“Ms. Holt, I can’t possibly remember every single—”

“—They left because something happened to their son,” Pidge interrupted. “A Garrison student by the name of Lotor Gale—sidenote, that is the stupidest name I’ve ever heard—anyway, a student by the name of Lotor Gale, along with about four or five cronies, lured seven-year-old Matt Holt away from his parents, got him alone, and then physically attacked him. His parents came to you, hoping for support and for the perpetrators to be dealt with. Instead, they received no help from you, and so much anonymous harassment for reporting the incident that they were forced to leave the school and move off campus.”

“That’s tragic,” said Iverson. “I’m sorry that the situation wasn’t—”

“—Oh, but you’re not,” said Pidge. “Because I did my digging and  _ you,  _ Mr. Iverson, had everything to do with the situation.” The screen began to fill with various documents. “If you look around at the files I’m pulling up, you will see a clear narrative: Zachary and Honerva Gale, the parents of the student who hurt my brother, asked you to cover up the incident, including the harassment, implying that they would reward you in some way if you complied. You did, and within days there are records of hundreds of thousands of dollars in various in-kind donations, all from the Gale family, not to mention the extravagant staff appreciation party that was held a week after the Holts left campus. I did some research, and that party cost nearly ten thousand dollars. That’s almost a small wedding.”

“You have no proof that those files are legitimate,” said Iverson. “This is preposterous.”

“Oh, I have proof,” said Pidge. “Every single file you see, was taken directly off of a Garrison server. Every email, every financial report, everything. These are Garrison files, Mr. Iverson.”

Iverson’s face was white and red at the same time. “Ms. Holt—”

“—I have a proposition for you,” Pidge interrupted. “And I will only offer it once, so be careful as to whether you take it or leave it. The thing is, Mr. Iverson, my family, including my brother, have all let the incident go. I have not, because I’m more easily angered than my family. But I would be willing to let it go, if you allow Lance to go home and see his family,  _ and  _ allow Keith here to go with him if they choose. If not, every file you see here, and sound proof of the files’ legitimacy, will go to the school’s board of trustees, the police, and any and all press outlets interested in covering the story of how the head of a private school took bribes from a couple of millionaires to hide an attack on a seven-year-old. I dunno about you, Mr. Iverson, but that story sounds  _ very  _ appealing.”

“This is blackmail,” said Iverson. “Not to mention you just confessed to hacking into the school mainframe.”

“You’re not wrong,” said Pidge. “But which is really worse, the fact that I hacked your mainframe and am now blackmailing you into doing something any reasonable head of school should have done, or the fact that a seven year old got attacked on your school’s property and you accepted bribes to do nothing about it?”

There was a ten-second pause, and then Pidge spoke again.

“Take it or leave it, Mr. Iverson,” she said. “I’ll give you five minutes, and then the deal is off and this story breaks. And that really would put a strain on the faculty, wouldn't it…”

The light left Iverson’s eyes. Pidge smirked. She had won.

~~~~

Meanwhile, Lance was finally feeling better for the first time in days. Keith was right—being back at work was doing him good, not to mention did Altea good.

“We missed you,” one of Lance’s regulars told him at the pickup line. “Hunk and Micah are nice, but it's not the same. Your coffee is something else.”

“Thanks,” said Lance. “I missed it here. Well, here’s your coffee.”

“Doing alright?” Shiro asked when Lance went back to the register. Lance nodded and gave him the thumbs-up. “Good.”

Just then, the bell tinkled and Keith, Pidge, and Rose walked in. “Hey!” Lance said brightly.

“Hey there,” said Rose. “How’s being back at work?”

“It’s good,” said Lance. “I’m glad Keith told me to go.”

“Well, get ready to leave,” said Keith. “Pidge and I talked to Iverson and changed his mind.”

Lance blinked a few times. “Wait, what?”

“Pack your bags, babe,” said Keith. “I’m taking you home.”

~~~~

“Okay, but seriously, how did you get him to change his mind?” Lance asked for at least the third time. “I just. I can’t believe—”

“—We just talked to him,” said Keith. “Convinced him that his whole ‘strain on the faculty’ argument wasn’t sound.”

“Well, that part is true.”

A familiar grumble filled the air, followed closely by smoke blowing past as the bus pulled in. “Looks like our ride is here,” said Keith. “Ready to go home?”

“Don’t have to ask me twice,” said Lance. “Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song or as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith take the bus together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I know it's been forever. I'll be better; I promise.

“I’ve never taken the bus before,” Keith said as he put his bag in the overhead compartment. “Here, I can take yours.”

Lance handed Keith his bag. “Could’ve done if you’d ridden back with me over the break.”

“And take the overnight like you wanted? No way. Window or aisle?”

“Window.”

“After you, then.” Keith took Lance’s hand and kissed it softly before making a grand gesture towards their seats.

Lance giggled, eyes sparkling. “Why thank you, kind sir.”

“Of course.” Keith waited for Lance to sit before sliding next to him and tucking the armrest between the seats. “Okay, so yeah, I didn’t take the overnight bus with you. But hey, now I get to ride the bus and do this.”

“Do what?”

“This,” Keith repeated, and he wrapped his arms around Lance, snuggling him close. Lance sighed softly and nuzzled closer to Keith, feeling safe for the first time in far, far too long.

“It’ll all be okay,” said Keith, absentmindedly running his fingers through Lance’s hair.

“Yeah,” Lance mumbled. “Love you.”

Keith smiled softly, lightly kissing Lance’s forehead. “I love you too.”

“Tell me another poem?” Lance asked.

“Hmmm…” Keith thought for a few moments, still stroking Lance’s hair. “Got one.”

_I would that we were, my beloved, white birds on the foam of the sea!_   
_We tire of the flame of the meteor, before it can fade and flee;_   
_And the flame of the blue star of twilight, hung low on the rim of the sky,_   
_Has awaked in our hearts, my beloved, a sadness that may not die._

_A weariness comes from those dreamers, dew-dabbled, the lily and rose;_   
_Ah, dream not of them, my beloved, the flame of the meteor that goes,_   
_Or the flame of the blue star that lingers hung low in the fall of the dew:_   
_For I would we were changed to white birds on the wandering foam: I and you!_

_I am haunted by numberless islands, and many a Danaan shore,_   
_Where Time would surely forget us, and Sorrow come near us no more;_   
_Soon far from the rose and the lily and fret of the flames would we be,_   
_Were we only white birds, my beloved, buoyed out on the foam of the sea!_

“Damn,” Lance said quietly when Keith finished. “How do you remember all of these?”

“Yeats was a special interest for awhile,” Keith replied. “I was a young baby gay who liked words, looking for other gays who liked words. Wanna hear the poem that made me obsessed with Yeats?”

“Is it gay?”

Keith grinned. “Oh yeah. It’s subtle, but it’s gay.”

_If I make the lashes dark_   
_And the eyes more bright_   
_And the lips more scarlet,_   
_Or ask if all be right_   
_From mirror after mirror,_   
_No vanity's displayed:_   
_I'm looking for the face I had_   
_Before the world was made._

_What if I look upon a man_   
_As though on my beloved,_   
_And my blood be cold the while_   
_And my heart unmoved?_   
_Why should he think me cruel_   
_Or that he is betrayed?_   
_I'd have him love the thing that was_   
_Before the world was made._

“Shit, that is gay,” said Lance. “That’s really gay.”

“Yeats was almost definitely bi,” said Keith. “Hence why he’s the only poet I love more than the Bard himself.”

“Shakespeare was bi too, right?”

“He made terrible puns in every single play he ever wrote; what do you think?”

Lance had to hold back tears of laughter. “Fair enough.”

Keith grinned broadly, pecking Lance’s forehead. “Want another poem?”

“If you’re up for it,” Lance replied.

“Sure,” said Keith. “This one’s kinda funny.”

_The cat went here and there_   
_And the moon spun round like a top,_   
_And the nearest kin of the moon,_   
_The creeping cat, looked up._   
_Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon,_   
_For, wander and wail as he would,_   
_The pure cold light in the sky_   
_Troubled his animal blood._   
_Minnaloushe runs in the grass_   
_Lifting his delicate feet._   
_Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance?_   
_When two close kindred meet._   
_What better than call a dance?_   
_Maybe the moon may learn,_   
_Tired of that courtly fashion,_   
_A new dance turn._   
_Minnaloushe creeps through the grass_   
_From moonlit place to place,_   
_The sacred moon overhead_   
_Has taken a new phase._   
_Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils_   
_Will pass from change to change,_   
_And that from round to crescent,_   
_From crescent to round they range?_   
_Minnaloushe creeps through the grass_   
_Alone, important and wise,_   
_And lifts to the changing moon_   
_His changing eyes._

“Oooh, that one is kinda funny,” said Lance. “Yeats wrote a lot of different kinds of poetry, then?”

“Tons of stuff,” said Keith. “A lot of his later work was sociopolitical commentary, but his politics weren’t exactly the best so I ignore a lot of it.”

“Makes sense.”

“Is it weird that I like reciting poems for you?” Keith asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Lance snuggled a little closer to Keith. “Maybe it is… but hey, I absolutely love it when you do it. And honestly, I think it’s impressive that you remember all of these poems… and honestly I think I fall in love with you a little more every time you recite one for me.”

“Well, in that case, I’d better keep at it,” Keith laughed. He caressed Lance’s cheek softly. “God, do I love you.”

“I love you too…” Lance bit his lip. “Keith?”

“Yeah?”

“How did you get Iverson to change his mind?”

Keith sighed. “Lance… Lance, sweetheart, I would tell you, but I don’t… it’s complicated, and if you know it could really, really… it could be bad.”

Lance blinked a few times. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting Keith’s answer to be, but he definitely hadn’t expected that. And he had no idea what to do with it.

At first, he wanted to be pushy, to say that it was his business, that he deserved to know. Then he chided himself, told him that he was overreacting, that it didn’t matter… but was it?

It could have been ten seconds or it could have been ten minutes of chaos in his mind, but at long last, the dust settled. For some strange reason, all Lance could think of now was every single moment he had shared with Keith. Every laugh in the study room, every shared smile across the coffee shop. He could hear the swish of the paddle when they snuck out on the river that one time, could hear Keith’s soft voice as he recited poetry. He could remember Christmas, when he had treasured Keith’s drawing with tears close to forming, and then just half an hour later standing with him under a streetlamp and kissing his cheek before taking off into the night. He remembered their first date, remembered when they had confessed love, remembered every kiss and cuddle…

And all of it led up to the past few days.

Had this been a year ago, Lance would have suffered the last few days in complete silence. Elena would have had her accident and Lance would have kept it inside, kept it from everyone. Even Hunk would have been lucky to hear about it.

Lance didn’t like opening up to people. That took the kind of trust that he hadn’t felt since he was five years old.

And then, a whirlwind six months ago, came this _boy,_ this short, scrawny boy with a horrible haircut and soft, dark, almost purple eyes, and somehow thanks to this _boy,_ Lance had managed to find safety not only in him, but in Hunk, and in Pidge and Rose.

He wasn’t “healed” or anything. Honestly, he didn’t think he ever would be. Losing his father at five years old would shake him forever, and that included his ability to trust.

But if there was anyone he could trust, it was that _boy_ who had stumbled into his life out of necessity and a need for coffee, and was now holding him in warm, loving silence as they rode away from school and an ass-grown man who showed Lance the same compassion that his father had all those years ago.

It was because of Keith that Lance was able to escape on this bus here and now, and Lance wanted to know how, wanted to know what magic his boyfriend—his _boyfriend,_ his brilliant, beautiful boyfriend—had worked, but Keith didn’t want to share.

_“I would tell you, but I don’t… it’s complicated, and if you know it could really, really… it could be bad.”_

“Okay,” Lance finally said. “I trust you.”

Keith dropped a kiss on Lance’s head. “Thanks,” he said softly. “I know it’s hard to take my word for it on things like this.”

“It is,” said Lance. “I’m not gonna lie to you. It is.”

“Then I really, really appreciate it.” Keith pulled Lance even closer. “You’re incredible, Lance. You really are.”

Lance smiled softly. “I’d like to think so, yeah.”

“Tell me if you don’t want me to talk about this, but your family is so lucky to have you.”

“You really think?”

“No, I don’t think,” said Keith. “I _know._ I know your family is lucky to have you the way I know that the sky is blue and the earth is round and orbits the sun.”

“… Oh.” Lance nuzzled a little closer. “Thanks, man. Means a lot to me.”

“Anytime.”

“I think our stop is almost here,” said Lance, shifting a little so he could peek out the window. “Yeah, we’ll be there in like ten minutes.”

“Lance, what do you want me to do while I’m at your place?” Keith asked. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Just be around,” said Lance. “Luci will really do well having you around; she loves you to bits. And the others like you a lot too. Honestly, Keith, I need you there as moral support. I’ve gotta take care of my sisters and I don’t want to do it alone.”

“Then you won’t have to.” Keith leaned down, taking Lance’s face in his hands, and kissed him softly. “I promise, you won’t ever be alone in this.”

Lance nodded, resting his head against Keith’s chest. “Okay. Thanks, Keith.”

Keith smiled tenderly, a finger brushing that little tuft of hair he’d noticed all that time ago that resembled a bird in flight. “For you, anything.”

~~~~

_I had this thought a while ago,_   
_'My darling cannot understand_   
_What I have done, or what would do_   
_In this blind bitter land.'_

_And I grew weary of the sun_   
_Until my thoughts cleared up again,_   
_Remembering that the best I have done_   
_Was done to make it plain;_

_That every year I have cried, 'At length_   
_My darling understands it all,_   
_Because I have come into my strength,_   
_And words obey my call';_

_That had she done so who can say_   
_What would have shaken from the sieve?_   
_I might have thrown poor words away_   
_And been content to live._

_– W.B. Yeats, “Words”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song, or as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance and Keith arrive, and Keith angsts a little more than necessary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, an update! Wow!!!

Lance’s dad came to pick them up alone.

“Hey, Papa,” Lance said quietly. Keith gave his hand a squeeze before letting go so Lance could hug his father.

“You look so much older,” Alejandro said quietly as he held his son close. “It’s only been two weeks since I last saw you, and yet you look three years older.”

Lance shrugged silently in his father’s arms.

“Is she okay?” he asked a minute or so later. “Is Elena okay?”

“She’s alright,” said Alejandro. “She’s still in the hospital, but she’s alright.”

“And the other girls? And Mama?”

“They’re fine,” Alejandro replied. “They’re happy that you’re home. And Luci is really excited to see Keith, too.” He waved at Keith.

“Hey,” said Keith.

“Let’s get home,” said Alejandro. “It’ll all be alright.”

~~~~

Luci wanted her hair braided almost as soon as Keith and Lance walked in the door.

“Keith! I bet you can braid my hair better than Lance!”

Keith laughed. “Hmm, maybe Lance and I should compete over who’s the better hair-braider,” he mused.

“Oh, it’s  _ on,  _ Mullet,” said Lance. “Hey, wait a minute! Luci! How can you possibly think that a guy with a  _ mullet  _ knows anything about hair?!” Luci giggled, flapping her hands. “Alright, alright, we can compete.”

“I love your sister,” Keith said quietly as they walked hand in hand. “She’s too darn cute.”

“She really likes you too,” Lance replied. “I’m glad you two get along so well.”

“So I have a new friend,” Alicia announced when they sat down on the couch. “Her name is Caroline.”

_ “Sweeeeeet Caroliiine, buhm-buhm-buuuuhhhhmmmm,”  _ Lance sang, off-key and at the top of his lungs. Alicia groaned. “Okay, okay, you were saying?”

“Caroline’s her  _ girlfriend,  _ Lance,” said Selina. Luci nodded in agreement. “She’s all Alicia will talk about these days. Caroline this. Caroline that. Just like you ‘n’ Keith.”

“She’s  _ not  _ my girlfriend!” Alicia protested. “Well. She isn’t yet.”

“Aaaayyy!” Lance cheered. “When’re you gonna ask her out?”

Alicia crossed her arms, face turning red. “I never said I was gonna do that!”

Selina rolled her eyes, before smirking.  _ “Alicia and Caroline, sittin’ in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” _

“Alright, alright, that’s enough,” said María. “Leave Alicia alone.”

“Yeah, leave me alone.”

“We’ll have plenty of time to make fun of her when she and Caroline start going out.”

_ “Mama!” _

~~~~

**[[Shiro]]**

Shiro?

Yeah, kiddo?

I’m with Lance’s family and   
I dunno   
They’re just… they’re just so amazing   
They love each other so much   
And I never had that and   
Idk where this is going   
I’m sorry I’ll go

No, hold on a second!   
Keith, listen.   
I know you never had a family.   
And I’m sorry.   
I wish I’d been there for you more often when you were growing up.

It’s okay   
It’s not like you’re my dad or brother   
You’re my cousin   
And ten years older than I am   
You had your own life

I didn’t really, though.   
I was just as lonely all the time as you were.   
It wasn’t until college that that really changed.

When you met Matt? xD

Piss off.   
But seriously…   
I didn’t have much of a family either, Keith.   
But we have each other now, okay?   
And you have all of your friends.

Yeah

Go spend time with Lance and his family, kiddo.   
But don’t go into it feeling bitter or jealous or sad.   
Try and think about the fact that this boy let you into his life.   
And the fact that his family has welcomed you in as well.   
I know that’s hard to do, but at least give it a go, okay?

I will   
Thanks, Shiro

Anytime, kid.   
I love you.

Love you too

  
  


“Keith?”

Keith whirled around to see that Lance was in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“You alright, man?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m fine. Just was texting Shiro.”

Lance sat down on the bed next to Keith, wrapping an arm around him. “You sure?”

Keith nodded, turning to Lance with a smile. “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Eh. It’s good to be with my family again. But I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not worried about my sister, yanno?”

“Of course,” said Keith.

“Speaking of, we’re all about to go to the hospital to see her and have lunch with her, so come on.”

“Wait—you want me to come with you?”

Lance laughed. “What’s the alternative? Leave you here? C’mon, babe. Last I heard, Elena wants to see you too.”

He got up, extended a hand to Keith, and Keith took it—and suddenly he was being pulled into Lance’s arms.

“I’d very much like to kiss you right now,” Lance said quietly.

“Oh, by all means, please do.”

“Lance! Keith! We’re leaving in two minutes, with or without you!”

They pulled apart, reluctantly, and then grabbed hands and took off down the stairs.

~~~~

“You brought me lunch?! You guys are the best!”

Elena’s eyes sparkled as Alicia unloaded the bags they had brought. 

“Of course you care more about the food than about your older brother,” Lance teased.

“Maybe I do,” said Elena, grinning playfully. “Did Mama make the food?”

“Actually, I made it,” Lance replied. “Well. I helped. I did a good amount.”

“Keith helped too,” Luci piped up. “Actually, we all did. It was fun!”

“I’m glad you’re okay, Elena,” Lance said quietly. “I was worried about you.”

“Me too,” said Elena.

“Why?”

“Didn’t Mama tell you?” Lance shook his head. “I can’t walk anymore.”

“Oh, kiddo,” Lance said sadly. “I’m so sorry.”

Elena shrugged. “I’ll be okay.”

Lance bent down and kissed his sister’s forehead. “That’s the spirit. Now let’s eat.”

It was more than just a tight squeeze, with everyone eating in the hospital room, but they made it work, sharing food around the room and laughing as Elena told them about the antics that people got into around the hospital.

“This girl near me, Isabel—the nurse asked her to look straight up at the ceiling, and she’s like ‘Well, I can’t look  _ straight  _ up. But if you tape a picture of a pretty girl to the ceiling, I can assure you that I’ll stare longingly up at it for as long as you need.’ And then the nurse was so confused until the girl said, very matter of factly, ‘I’m  _ gay,  _ Nurse.’ It was fantastic.”

Keith snorted. “That sounds like the kind of thing Pidge would say.”

“Oh, absolutely,” said Lance. “Did the nurse tape a pretty girl to the ceiling for her?”

“Nah.”

“Poo.”

“How long are you gonna be here?” Elena asked.

“I’m not sure,” said Lance. “Probably a few days.”

“And then when do you come back after that?”

Lance sighed. “Once I go, that’s it until the summer.”

“You’re not gonna come back until the summer?” Elena asked, eyes wide.

“I know. I know. I’m sorry, kiddo.”

“We’ll just have to make the most of Lance being here while he’s here,” Alejandro declared. “Alright?”

“And Keith too!” Luci piped up.

“It’ll be alright,” said Lance. “I’ll still FaceTime with you plenty, okay? I promise.”

“Okay.”

**[[Shiro]]**

Doing better over there?

Yeah   
Lance and I are at the hospital with Lance’s family

Sounds great!   
Have fun, kiddo.

I will   
I am having fun

Good.   
Just let it all happen, okay?

Will do

And tell Lance that Allura says he has as many paid vacations as he wants.

Will do

**[[Rose]]**

keef i hate to tear you away from whatever you’re doing with lance   
but we have an emergency

What???

it’s pidge   
she put the files on wikileaks   
and then told the times and the post and cnn and basically anyone   
and she says the story’s going live in… now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh-oh...
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song or as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much!


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith had never really cared about what it might have been like to live in any moment other than the present. Hell, he barely cared about life in the present. But now, as he stared at his phone screen, he felt himself leave the present moment, scandals he had read about in history class flashing before his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like "day 2 of government shutdown" was a good time to post this one...

Keith had never really cared about what it might have been like to live in any moment other than the present. Hell, he barely cared about life in the present.

But now, as he stared at his phone screen, he felt himself leave the present moment, scandals he had read about in history class flashing before his eyes.

NEWS ****  
**The New York Times** **  
** Leaked files from prestigious private high school suggest that the school administration took bribes to cover up an attack on a 7-year-old child

NEWS ****  
**The Washington Post** **  
** Headmaster of Garrison Academy in New York State allegedly covered up an attack on the 7 year old son of two teachers

NEWS ****  
**CNN** **  
** Hundreds of leaked documents from the prestigious Garrison Academy tell a chilling tale. Did the school administration take bribes to hide the harassment of a 7-year-old child?

Keith could hear other people talking as they opened up the news story and began reading, but their voices didn’t register. He already knew what was happening.

Nothing seemed real. The world had turned upside down.

And he had  _ known _ about the whole thing. He could only imagine what it would be like to  _ not  _ know a scandal had taken place before it was revealed to the public.

“Disgusting.”

Keith turned to see that María was positively seething.

“Absolutely disgusting. What an utterly despicable—the utter  _ nerve  _ to—”

“I know,” Keith said quietly.

“I know you’re talking about Iverson,” said Lance, “and I know this sounds bad and derailing, but who leaked it? I wouldn’t care too much, if it weren’t for the fact that this is Pidge’s family we’re talking about.”

Keith turned to Lance. “Lance, there’s only one person on the planet who could get access to those files and leak them. Only one person with the brains and computer expertise—and the report said, they were taken off of Garrison computers.”

“Pidge,” Lance realized. “But why? I mean, the girl’s ruthless and vengeful, but she’s not that reckless.”

It was then that Keith realized he didn’t actually know what was going on. Why would Pidge leak the files? They were meant to be blackmail so that Lance could go home. Now that he was home, why would she break her word and call attention to herself and the school, unless—

“There’s something else going on.”

Keith blinked a few times. “What?”

“Pidge found out something else,” Lance explained, “but there’s no paper trail. Her only hope of getting it discovered is if she stirs up a fuss over what she does have receipts on, and someone sends over an investigation team—the press, the police…”

“And she’s going to try and set it up so they discover it accidentally.” Keith rubbed his fingers into his forehead. “Dear fucking lord.”

“Yeah, it’s reckless,” said Lance.

“Yeah,” said Keith. “Yeah, it’s…”

“What?”

“Pidge isn’t reckless,” Keith said quietly. “Not like that. Yeah, she does dumb things, but she’s not that reckless. Something isn’t right, Lance.”

Just then, Keith’s phone rang. “It’s Pidge,” he said. “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

_ “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, but I had no choice!” _

“What do you mean, you had no choice?”

_ “Keith, he canceled Lance’s scholarship.” _

“What?”

_ “Ever since you and Lance left campus, I’ve been monitoring your profiles in case he retaliated.” _

“And he canceled Lance’s scholarship.”

“He WHAT?!”

Keith took the phone away from his ear. “Lance—”

“What the fuck do I have to do with this?”

“Lance—”

“Tell me. Now.”

Keith sighed, and put the phone on speaker. “Tell him.”

_ “I… I blackmailed Iverson. So he’d let you go home. But I swear, Lance, I knew about all of this long before I met you. That’s why I came to Garrison in the first place—to find the proof of what Iverson did to my brother and leak it. The only reason I considered  _ not  _ leaking it, was to get Iverson to let you go home and see Elena. So I made an agreement with him—if he let you go, I’d consider letting the scandal go. I couldn’t lay out any sort of terms, because I’m a minor and contracts with minors aren’t legally binding. But we had an agreement, and canceling your scholarship is a pretty clear breach of the spirit of that agreement, so it was back to Plan A.” _

“So what you’re saying, is you dragged me into this, without my permission, in order to fight my battles.”

_ “Lance—” _

“Lance—”

“Lance,” María said quietly. “I don’t like that you were dragged into this, either. But look at how happy the girls were to see you. And the world needed to know about this man’s actions.”

“Mama, he canceled my scholarship.”

“Good. I don’t want you to go to a school with him as headmaster.”

_ “But more importantly, that will all be irrelevant in about two months. Lance, I didn’t just leak the files to get revenge. I’m a bitch—sorry, María—I’m a terrible person, but I do have reasons for doing what I do.” _

“And what exactly are your reasons?”

_ “Lance, I leaked the files. Iverson, the school, everyone is now part of a massive scandal. There’s enough in what I shared for any reasonable judge to issue the police a warrant to search the computers.” _

“Okay, so maybe they find one scholarship canceled. Big whoop.”

_ “Well, actually, it’s not just one. He canceled about half of the school’s scholarships for next year, completely. The cancellations are huge and obvious, and none of the students involved have financial changes on file, or lower grades that would warrant a cancellation.” _

“Why would he do all of that?”

_ “Well, I don’t have concrete evidence, but I think it might be part of his agreement with the Gale family. The only thing I couldn’t find in those files was an actual signed agreement between Iverson and the Gales, probably because the Gales were smart enough to not let him have a copy on Garrison computers. But I have a feeling that they wrote in a clause that would leave Iverson on the hook for legal fees if the Gales got caught. So now Iverson needs quick money, and I’m guessing his hope is to get that money into Zachary Gale’s checking account before anyone sees that it’s gone.” _

“So now you’re trying to get attention to the school, so that this all gets discovered.”

_ “Yeah, basically.” _

Lance raised his eyebrows at Keith pointedly. Keith ignored him, instead turning the phone closer to him.

“Pidge, are you out of your mind?” he asked incredulously. “That’s an enormous risk to take—”

_ “—Since when were you so measured and cautious?”  _ Pidge retorted.  _ “Keith, I love you, but you’re just as impulsive as I am and you know it.” _

“I wouldn’t go and do  _ that!  _ Pidge—”

“OI!” María’s voice, loud and clear, shocked them into silence. “That is enough. We do not argue like this in places of healing.”

“Sorry,” Keith said quietly.

“Does your family know?” Lance asked.

_ “Yeah. They weren’t happy at first—Mom was really pissed—but Dad and Matt got her to kinda see where I was coming from. Now they’re okay.” _

“Well, I think you’re incredibly brave,” said María. “Reckless, maybe, but brave. I hope that justice is served.”

_ “I hope so, too. Listen, I gotta go.” _

“Alright,” said Keith. “Pidge, be careful.”

But the line had already gone dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So fun fact, I actually have written the last two chapters of this already. Leave a comment below—do you want me to post all of them, or wait a week in between each chapter?
> 
> In other news, find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song or as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hell breaks loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PENULTIMATE CHAPTER Y'ALL

After that, all hell broke loose. Iverson resigned within twenty-four hours of the leak, leaving a power vacuum within the school that no one wanted to fix or fill—in fact, about half the faculty had resigned within two weeks. Speculation and doubt filled the campus, causing parents to pull their students on the daily. The Board had devolved into screaming matches over how to proceed.

Meanwhile, students were beginning to mobilize. The sudden loss in students and teachers meant that many classes got canceled, leaving ample time for students to have daily meetings of the newly-formed Student Council. Almost every single student in the school participated. The AP Statistics class, which had disbanded when their teacher left, became a data shop, taking different surveys of the students per the requests of the different committees, analyzing the results, and creating reports.

About six weeks later, the Council produced the Garrison Code, a revised edition of the staff handbook, the student handbook, and the budget. The foreword of the Code was a detailed, data-filled explanation of their revisions and why the Council found those revisions important. The Code also contained a detailed charter for a weekly all-school meeting called the Garrison General Court, where the students and staff could vote on most school policies, thus revising the Code on a regular basis.

Pidge, of course, took her chance when she had it. She asked the council chair if she could start an accessibility committee, which allowed her to write Rover into the Code as a required piece of software on all Garrison tech that would be updated regularly. During the process of writing the Code, someone put two and two together that she was responsible for the leak. The next day, the Holt Accountability Award was written into the Code as an official school award for teachers with fair and transparent classroom policies.

And then, two days after her immortalization, Pidge had to take accountability for her own actions… in court.

“I’m sorry,” she told her family, over and over again.

“Don’t worry, kiddo,” said her dad. “I did my digging, and it’s the same judge dealing with Iverson and the Gales. Honestly, I’d be shocked if she doesn’t dismiss the case out of hand.”

“But if she doesn’t—”

“If she doesn’t, we’ll deal with it,” Sam interrupted. “Katie, look at what you’ve done. You may well have saved the school from a whole slew of problems.”

“And now Iverson and the Gales are going to be punished for everything they did,” Matt added.

“Yeah. Yeah, okay.”

Two hours later, they were leaving the courtroom. The judge had heard Pidge’s case, stared at the clerk and then at Pidge and her family in disbelief, said “I didn’t pass the bar exam on my first try in five different states and serve on the bench for forty-eight years for this—,” cut herself off before cursing, and then banged the gavel.

“That was incredible,” Pidge laughed as she got in the car. “I mean, stressful up until we went before the judge, but also kinda incredible.”

**[[Rose ❤️]]**

is it over???

Yeah, it’s over.

and??????

Judge dismissed the case right away.

oh thank God   
i was worried u were in deep shit

Nah, I’m fine.   
Wanna grab coffee?

altea?   
it’s not as good without lance there :(

I dunno, Hunk’s coffee is pretty good…

yah ok   
see u back on campus??

Sure!

 

The court case lasted for weeks, and still nobody wanted to fill in the position of headmaster, or try and hire new teachers. In the end, the Academic Dean decided to discount the entire fourth quarter on all student transcripts and cancel final exams, calculating grades using the first three quarters only, but allow students to continue staying on campus for the last month of school and engage in independent study should they choose to.

“I really want to go back,” Lance said to his mother when he heard his fourth-quarter grades wouldn’t count. “Mainly because I miss work and my friends.” Keith had gone back quite some time ago per Pidge’s request, to help with writing the Rover clause into the Code, but Lance had chosen to stay with his family until Elena was out of the hospital.

Now she was out, and Lance was getting cabin fever.

“What about next year?” María asked.

Lance sighed. “Listen, if the Garrison doesn’t get its act together to your satisfaction, I won’t go next year. I’ll just go to Parkman with Alicia, and I won’t put up a fight or anything, I promise. But I just want to see my friends again—especially if I won’t go to school with them next year.”

María sighed. “Okay. Okay, you can go back.”

**[[the squad™]]**

GUESS WHO’S COMING BACK???

**Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** yOU???

YES!!!

**Mullet ❤️:** **  
** Awesome!!!!

Holy crow I’ve missed you so much babe

**Rose:** **  
** what are we, chopped liver??

Yeah, you too Rose

**Pidgeon:** **  
** Ahem

You too Pidgeon. And Hunk

 

**[[Alteans]]**

I’M COMING BACK!!!!

**Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** YES

**Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** That’s great, Lance!

**Princess Allura:** **  
** Wonderful! You up for a shift?

More like five   
I’ve missed it so much   
Seriously Allura just schedule me   
Classes have basically all been canceled   
So you could even schedule me weekdays   
I just really miss Altea okay

**Princess Allura:** ****  
Your enthusiasm is appreciated, but I can’t hire you during the week.   
Not unless the school officially calls the year over.

**Long Lost Weasley:** ****  
AT LAST, THE KING RETURNS!!   
Dude, it’s been so awful without you

Glad yall have missed me

**Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** ****  
Keith has been moping around the coffee shop.   
He keeps whining that he wants your coffee.

**Long Lost Weasley:** **  
** Probably wants something else…

**Princess Allura:** **  
** I, your boss, did not need to see that with my own two eyes.

**Keith’s Cousin (Oh And My Boss):** **  
** Nor did I, your boss and Keith’s cousin

**Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** **  
** nor did i, your coworker and lance and keef’s best friend

That “something” is obviously a hug   
God knows that boy doesn’t get enough of those   
Shiro, you’re a terrible cousin. Give him more hugs.

**Ray of Sunshine ☀️:** ****  
quiznak u rite   
shiro u gotta give keef more hugs!!!!   
Hug Him

 

**[[Mullet ❤️]]**

Whatever Shiro is telling you is a lie

You don’t miss me????

There’s no way that’s what he said

Okay, fine, he was saying you’re all mopey   
It’s cute though!!! I miss you too

When are you coming back?

My bus leaves in two hours

I’ll meet you at the bus stop

Don’t bring anyone else with you, ok?   
I just want to see you

Wasn’t planning on it   
Love you

Love you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, so this was kinda rushy. Listen, I had to tie up a lot of loose ends before the final chapter.
> 
> I honestly can't believe that the next chapter is going to be the last one.
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @sing-a-rebel-song, as Mod Keith @everything-quiznaks-so-much, as Mod Allura @queenshippingofficial, and now as Mod Lia @platonicvoltronnet!


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance returns to the Garrison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, the final chapter!

“Lance!”

Sometimes, what with everything Lance loved about Keith, he forgot, just for a moment, about Keith’s eyes and their richness, how when he was thinking they seemed to have a bubbling, dark movement, like a pot of boiling squid ink, and the occasional pinpoint of light, like distant dying stars.

But now, as Keith waved to him in the twilight, the stars in his eyes sparkled and shone with life, and Lance could feel himself fall in love all over again.

“Hey, Mullet.”

“Oh, shut up.” Keith rolled his eyes as he walked towards Lance and took Lance’s hands in his. “Hey, guess what?”

“What?”

Keith took Lance’s face in his hands and pressed their foreheads together. “I love you.”

“Yeah?” Lance asked.

“Yeah. Can I kiss you?” Lance nodded, and Keith pressed their lips together, softly, slowly.

“I’m gay,” Keith blurted as they pulled apart.

Lance snorted. “No _shit_ you are.”

“We gotta go,” said Keith. “Quickly, before Shiro realizes that I stole his car.”

~~~~

“So, your first night back at the Garrison. Whaddya wanna do?”

Lance stared out the window for a few moments before looking back at Keith. “Hmm… I think I want a classic squad night, and to fall asleep cuddling you.”

“Sounds perfect,” said Keith. “I like the part where we fall asleep cuddling.”

“Yeah, me too. Hang on, lemme text them.”

**[[the squad™]]**

Squad night, who’s in?

 **Rose:** **  
** yES im in whose room

 **Ray of Sunshine:** **  
** let’s do it in our room!!! its bigger

 **Pidgeon:** ****  
Actually, I have a better idea.  
Now that I’ve been officially established as the Garrison’s Queen of Revenge…   
I say we do it in my room.   
And spread all over Amberlyn’s space, the way she does with mine.   
Also, I’m pretty sure she’s homophobic and racist, so having a bunch of gays and a few POC in her room will really piss her off.

 **Rose:** **  
** fuck. yes.

All hail the Queen of Revenge!

~~~~

To say the least, Amberlyn was _not_ pleased when she returned to her and Pidge’s room and saw people all over it.

“Who the _hell_ is in _my_ room?!” she shrieked.

“Technically, it’s our room,” Pidge said airily. “Amberlyn, these are my friends.”

“Katie Holt, get these _people_ out of _my_ room and off of _my_ bed or I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Rose asked sweetly. “Steal Pidge’s notes? Make a mess all over her space? Because you already do those.”

“I’ll—I’ll have you thrown out of school!”

“I’ll remind you that I hacked into the school mainframe, jailbroke an iPad, blackmailed the head of school, leaked sensitive files to the press, and essentially created a power vacuum _and_ a court case that’s taken months to resolve, causing the school to lose half its faculty, half its students, and all of its prestige, and yet I’m still here,” said Pidge. “You really think that using my own room is gonna take me down?

Amberlyn blinked a few times, opened her mouth, and stormed out of the room.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Hunk snorted and the whole room burst into laughter.

“That was priceless,” said Rose. “The look on her face.”

~~~~

_May 18th_

A canoe drifted down the river into the sunset, filled beyond capacity with giggling teenagers. Hunk sat in the raised seat of the stern, slowly paddling, while Pidge and Rose squished together in the middle. Lance sat on the front raised seat, gig bag on his back (and slightly in Rose’s face), with Keith curled up in the empty space at Lance’s feet, nuzzling slightly against Lance’s leg.

“It’s over,” Pidge said quietly, the fifth or seventh or maybe twelfth time those words had been uttered that day. Gale had been found guilty the day before—Iverson three days before that—and the Garrison was coming back together again, with a beloved physics teacher taking the place of head of school—which, incidentally, left a spot open that Sam Holt was only too happy to fill now that Iverson was gone. The Board had finally gotten its act together, and, with the approval of it and the faculty, the Code was slated to go into effect on the first day of the next school year. The canceled scholarships had all been reinstated, and new teachers began applying for jobs. It would seem that things might go back to normal.

As for Lance, he had gotten permission to return to Garrison. Meanwhile, his mother was telling him that Elena’s physical therapy was going well and that the search for a more accessible house was underway. Luci, meanwhile, had made a new friend at school, Alicia was getting excited for high school—and for the last day of eighth grade, when she planned on asking Caroline to go out with her—and Selina had been asked to be part of her studio’s more advanced dance company.

“Okay, who else thinks this has been the weirdest spring ever?” Hunk asked. Everyone’s hand went up. “Like, nothing’s been normal since Lance serenaded Keith a month ago.”

“But hey, things are straightening out now,” said Keith.

“Oh, is that so?” Lance asked, looking down at Keith with a teasing smile. “Straightening out, you say? _Straightening?_ I don’t think any of us are all that _straight,_ sweetheart.”

Keith laughed and grabbed Lance’s hand, kissing it. “Okay, okay, yeah, we’re not straight.”

“Y’all are sickening,” said Rose.

“You’re no better,” Lance retorted.

“Yeah, okay, that’s fair,” said Pidge.

“Okay, I brought my guitar out here for a reason,” said Lance. “Let’s sing something. Any requests?”

“Well, there is one song,” Keith mumbled. “I heard it as a kid… I think it’s from the Muppets?”

Lance smiled and took out his guitar, playing a little bit. “Does it start a little something like this?”

Keith’s eyes lit up. “Yeah, that’s it! I don’t know the words, though.”

“Awww, I love this song,” said Hunk. “Don’t worry, Keef. We’ll help you out.”

“Oh shit, the gay anthem,” Rose said loudly.

“Rose, sweetheart, just because a song has the word ‘rainbow’ in it doesn’t make it a gay anthem,” said Pidge.

“I hear that, but consider this: any song that mentions rainbows is a gay anthem.”

“Shit. You’re right.”

“Alright, alright, let’s get this going,” said Lance. He restarted the intro and began to sing. _“Why are there so many songs about rainbows and what's on the other side? Rainbows are visions, but only illusions, and rainbows have nothing to hide.”_

Hunk grinned and jumped in, _“So we've been told and some choose to believe it. I know they're wrong—wait and see,”_ and then he and Lance sung together, _“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers—the dreamers—and me.”_

“Okay, it’s my turn,” said Rose. _“Who said that every wish would be heard and answered when wished on the morning star? Somebody thought of that, and someone believed it. Look what it’s done so far.”_

 _“What’s so amazing that keeps us stargazing?”_ Pidge interjected. _“And what do we think we might see?”_ She beckoned with her finger to get the others to sing with her, _“Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection, the lovers—the dreamers—and me.”_

Keith, meanwhile, had gotten the lyrics up on his phone, so he was able to jump in right on time with the others on _“All of us under its spell, we know that it’s probably magic.”_

 _“Have you been half asleep and have you heard voices?”_ they all sang together. _“I’ve heard them calling my name…”_

 _Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?_ _  
_ _The voice might be one and the same._

 _I've heard it too many times to ignore it._   
_It's something that I'm supposed to be._   
_Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection_ _  
The lovers, the dreamers and me._

_Someday we’ll find it, the rainbow connection  
The lovers—the dreamers—and me. _

Lance put his guitar down and tangled his fingers into Keith's hair. The sun had just vanished, leaving behind a cloudless curtain of darkness. “That was good.”

“Yeah,” said Keith. “Yeah, it was.”

“Hey, look,” said Hunk, pointing up. “You can see the moon and stars now.”

“They’re beautiful,” said Pidge.

“Yanno who else is beautiful?” Rose asked.

“Who?”

Rose kissed Pidge’s cheek. “I think you know.”

“I walked into that.”

“Yep.”

“Well, all of this is reminding me of a certain ending to a certain poem,” said Lance. He had just finished putting his guitar away and was now gently playing with Keith’s hair. “Keith, sweetheart? Do the honors?”

Keith smiled and began to recite.

 _We sat grown quiet at the name of love;_   
_We saw the last embers of daylight die,_   
_And in the trembling blue-green of the sky_   
_A moon, worn as if it had been a shell_   
_Washed by time's waters as they rose and fell_ _  
About the stars and broke in days and years._

_I had a thought for no one's but your ears:_   
_That you were beautiful, and that I strove_   
_To love you in the old high way of love;_   
_That it had all seemed happy, and yet we'd grown  
As weary-hearted as that hollow moon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's all she wrote! Literally!
> 
> I just wanna thank y'all for coming on this journey with me. Writing this fic has been so much fun, partly because I like writing gay fluffy shit, but mostly because I have had the most supportive and loving readers every step of the way. Every kudos and comment has made writing this fic worthwhile. So thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone.
> 
> I also couldn't have made this fic happen without the incredible talents of William Shakespeare, William Butler Yeats, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers (better known as Indigo Girls), the team behind Welcome to Night Vale, all of whose work I referenced and/or quoted repeatedly in this fic. I know I didn't technically ask any of y'all to use your work, partly because some of you happen to be dead, but uhh... thanks! Please don't sue me if you're still alive!
> 
> Yours, with love,  
> Lia

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [UNO](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11727534) by [whichlights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whichlights/pseuds/whichlights)




End file.
